UC-MRLF 


H  F 


'SYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS 

APPLIED  TO 
FACTORY  WORKERS 


BY 


EMILY  THORP  BURR,  A.  M. 


Reprinted  from 

ARCHIVES  OF  PSYCHOLOGY 

Edited  by  R.  S.  WOOD  WOR 

No.  55 


Submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  in  th>  1'hilosophy, 

:  --rsir.v 


NEW  YORK 
May  1922 


EXCHANGE 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS 

APPLIED  TO 
FACTORY  WORKERS 


BY 
EMILY  THORP  /BURR,  A.  M. 


Reprinted  from 

ARCHIVES  OF  PSYCHOLOGY 

Edited  by  R.  S.  WOODWORTH 

No.  55 


Submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for  the  degree  of 

Doctor  of  Philosophy,  in  the  Faculty  of  Philosophy, 

Columbia  University 


NEW  YORK 
May  1922 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER   I. 

A  Survey  of  the  Psychological  Testing  of  Factory 
Workers. 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Factory  and  it's  specific  Problems.  14 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  Tests.  19 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  Discussion  of  the  Reactions  to  the  Tests.  22 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  Correlations.  61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Multiple  Correlations.  73 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Interpretation  of  the  Data.  81 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Confirmation  of  the  Tests:— Three  Years  Later.  84 

Appendix.  87 

Bibliography.  92 


517477 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED 
TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Chapter  I. 

A  SURVEY  OF  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTING 
OF  INDUSTRIAL  WORKERS 

It  is  rather  disconcerting  that  in  the  conduct  of  modern 
business  the  handling  of  the  human  element  has  received  far 
less  consideration  than  the  development  of  machinery  and  the 
perfection  of  the  materials  used  in  industries.  The  history 
of  industry  shows  a  gradual  increase  in  the  specification  of 
the  material  factors  employed,  but  not  until  the  last  decade 
has  the  recognition  of  differences  in  the  individual  been 
considered. 

In  the  industrial  magazines  of  former  years  a  great  deal 
more  space  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  materials  and 
machinery  utilized  than  to  the  analysis  of  the  employee  and 
the  appreciation  of  his  needs  and  value.  When  selecting  a 
machine,  managers  of  industrial  organizations  are  extremely 
careful  to  obtain  one  that  is  absolutely  adapted  to  the  specific 
work  for  which  it  is  required,  but  although  there  is  more 
variation  in  men  than  in  machines,  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases  men  are  still  selected  by  the  most  haphazard  methods. 
It  should  be  obvious  that  even  though  all  factories  producing 
a  similar  type  of  goods  were  to  adopt  the  same  kind  of 
mechanical  devices  their  output  would  vary  tremendously 
because  of  the  differences  in  the  quality  of  the  human  labor 
employed. 

Until  recently,  neither  the  employer  nor  the  employee 
gave  much  attention  to  the  method  of  work.  The  employer 
interested  himself  first  of  all  in  the  Output  and  the  wages  he 
was  obliged  to  pay  while  the  employee  concerned  himself  but 
little  with  the  matter  of  Output  and  a  great  deal  with  the 
matter  of  wages.  The  attitude  of  both  toward  the  amount  of 
energy  that  must  be  expended  to  bring  forth  results  was 
similarly  one  of  more  or  less  indifference. 

There  is  consolation,  however,  in  the  fact  that  among 
progressive  employers  there  are  those  who  are  becoming 
aware  that  the  management  and  selection  of  employees  is  one 
of  the  most  essential  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
complicated  details  with  which  they  have  to  grapple.  Un- 
fortunately, few  have  known  how  to  go  about  the  curtailing 
of  the  waste  which  invariably  results  from  chance  selection 
and  the  large  labor  turnover  which  inevitably  follows. 


6     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

In  times  of  business  stagnation,  there  has  existed  a 
surplus  of  applicants  for  industrial  positions  and  the  employer 
has  been  rather  undisturbed  regarding  changes  in  his 
personnel.  During  seasons  when  thd  wheels  of  industry 
are  moving  at  maximum  speed,  the  undesirables  have  had  to 
be  employed  as  well  as  the  trained  and  efficient.  In  normal 
times,  however,  when  the  selection  of  employees  fitted  to 
their  task  becomes  a  factor  that  influences  the  cost  of 
manufacture,  the  employer  lays  greater  stress  upon  scientific 
management  and  is  more  ready  to  lend  an  ear  to  the  theory 
of  proper  selection  of  labor  and  to  the  methods  and  tests 
designed  to  determine  its  fitness  or  unfitness. 

Psychologists  who  have  observed  the  incapacity  of 
workers  who  are  suffering  from  some  defect  of  the  brain 
have  tried  vicariously  to  call  the  attention  of  employers  to 
the  futility  of  expecting  certain  results  from  individuals 
fundamentally  unsuited  for  the  tasks  assigned  to  ttyem,  but 
although  there  is  here  and  there  an  inclination  to  apply 
scientific  methods  in  the  selection  of  employees,  as  yet  the 
field  is  being  cultivated  more  in  the  pursuit  of  an  ideal  than 
in  the  interest  of  industry. 

In  order  to  judge  of  the  fitness  of  an  individual  for  a 
specific  task,  it  is  necessary  to  analyze  not  only  the  aptitude 
of  the  applicant  for  the  work,  but  also  the  character  of  the  - 
work  as  well.  Certain  industries  demand  special  dexterity 
or  a  degree  of  mental  alertness  quite  at  variance  to  that  re- 
quired by  other  concerns. 

The  importance  of  determining  the  aptitude  of  a  man 
or  woman  for  a  particular  job  is  thus  being  gradually 
recognized,  but  the  industrial  world  has  a  long  journey  to 
travel  ere  it  reaches  the  same  efficiency  in  this  direction  as 
that  which  characterizes  its  use  of  machinery  or  of  raw 
materials. 

Prof.  H.  L.  Hollingworth  recommends  that  we  make 
psychographs  of  the  different  jobs  and  determine  the  physical, 
psychological,  intellectual,  moral,  social  and  temperamental 
character  necessary  for  each.  (1).  This  is  a  task  to  be  under- 
taken in  every  trade  and  in  every  branch  of  the  different 
industries  so  that  the  mental  factors  involved  in  each  type  of 
work  may  be  analyzed  and  the  varying  degrees  of  ability 
which  each  demands  be  decided  upon.  An  immense  field 
for  investigation  of  this  sort  lies  open  to  the  Experimental 
Psychologist  and  offers  an  opportunity  for  an  almost  limitless 
amount  of  research. 

Among  the  first  to  recognize  the  importance  of  scien- 
tific research  along  lines  that  would  aid  in  the  industrial 
situation  were  Dr.  J.  Me.  K.  Cattell  (2) ;  Prof.  H.  Munsterberg 
(3) ;  Prof.  H,  L.  Hollingworth  (4) ;  Prof.  E.  L.  Thorndike 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     7 


(5)  ;  Prof.  G.  M.  Whipple  (6)  ;  to  whose  work  reference  is 
made  in  this  paper. 

In  1910,  a  Vocational  Bureau  was  organized  in  Boston 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  human  fac£br  in  industrial 
occupations.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  definite  effort 
to  analyze  trade  conditions  from  the  standpoint  of  both  em- 
ployer and  employee.  It  was  found  that  only  incidental 
attention  was  given  to  the  subject  of  personnel  organizations. 
In  general,  employees  were  treated  only  as  economic  units, 
and  because  of  the  lack  of  co-operation  and  understanding 
between  employer  and  employee  the  labor  turnover  was 
enormous.  The  Bureau  found  that  only  a  few  firms  scattered 
over  the  country  had  separate  departments  for  hiring,  training 
and  promoting  the  welfare  of  their  employees  and  that  no 
scientific  attempt  to  place  applicants  in  positions  suited  to 
their  individual  capacity  was  being  made  by  any  of  the  firms 
then  investigated. 

A  year  after  the  inception  of  the  Bureau,  fifty  men  who 
were  in  charge  of  the  Help  Departments  in  fifty  large  estab- 
lishments were  asked  to  meet  and  discuss  the  problems  of  the 
employee.  As  a  result  of  this  conference,  a  concerted  effort 
was  made  to  apply  the  knowledge  of  the  Twentieth  Century 
towards  the  improvement  of  industrial  practices.  (7). 

One  of  the  chief  factors  which  has  brought  about  a  more 
enlightened  attitude  toward  the  scientific  examination  and 
analytical  study  of  the  man  or  woman  for  the  job,  is  the 
success  attending  the  application  of  psychological  tests  to 
army  recruits.  During  the  war,  the  aid  of  psychologists  was 
enlisted  to  examine  and  classify  the  intelligence  of  recruits 
so  as  to  assign  them  to  the  duties  for  which  they  were  best 
suited.  The  clever  and  ingenious  tests  then  arranged  proved 
a  swift  method  of  measuring  the  mentality  of  a  man.  Their 
application  is  some  one  million  seven  hundred  thousand  cases 
constituted  a  calculation  of  mental  capacity  on  a  larger  scale 
than  had  ever  been  undertaken.  (8). 

A  Committee  on  Classification  of  Personnel  was  appointed 
and  it  developed  a  number  of  Trade  Tests  which  were  success- 
fully utilized  in  placing  soldiers  and  sailors  who  came  from 
every  State  in  the  Union.  The  tests  were  of  three  kinds: 
Standardized  Questions,  either  oral  or  written,  Picture  Tests 
and  Performance  Examinations  (9)  which  were  arranged  to 
determine  a  man's  knowledge  of  the  various  trades. 

The  material  for  these  tests  was  secured  by  a  thorough 
investigation  of  each  trade  in  order  to  discover  suitable 
questions  and  comprehensive  and  fairly  simple  problems. 
When  a  series  of  questions  was  finally  selected  they  were 
standardized  by  trying  them  upon  groups  of  experts,  journey- 
men, aprentices  and  novices.  Questions  which  could  not  be 
answered,  or  work  which  could  not  be  performed  by  novices 


8     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

served  to  select  the  apprentices,  while  problems  which  could 
only  be  solved  by  the  expert  were  intended  to  eliminate  the 
unskilled.  Those  in  charge  of  the  Army  Tests  claim  that 
their  great  value  lies  in  their  uniformity  of  method,  in  the 
brevity  of  time  required  to  give  them,  and  in  the  fact  that 
they  are  so  well  standardized,  that  they  can  be  given  by  per- 
sons without  special  training.  There  were  two  kinds  of  group 
examinations,  one  for  men  able  to  read  and  write  English 
fairly  well,  called  Alpha,  and  the  other  for  persons  not  able 
to  read  and  write  English  called  Beta. 

The  interest  awakened  by  these  investigations  of  human 
intelligence  has  led  to  the  discussion  of  the  applicability  of 
psychological  tests  ill  the  industrial  and  business  world.  The 
question  of  the  extent  to  which  the  present  measuring  devices 
of  the  army  can  be  applied  directly  to  industry  depends, 
however,  as  Dr.  Chapman  so  wisely  observes,  upon  whether 
the  conditions  of  an  industry  coincide  with  those  of  the 
army.  (10).  What  the  results  of  the  Army  Tests  have  proved 
is  that  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  take  a  chance  on  a  man's 
intelligence.  Furthermore,  they  have  demonstrated  to  the 
managers  of  business  concerns  a  method  whereby  they  may 
eliminate  human  waste  and  increase  the  efficiency  of  their 
employees.  Therein  lies  the  secret  of  their  appeal  to  the 
business  manager. 

The  testing  that  was  done  prior  to  that  in  the  army  did 
not  arouse  very  much  interest.  Thus  in  1915,  when  the 
American  Tobacco  Company  engaged  Prof.  Scott  to  conduct 
some  tests  for  that  concern,  there  were  only  a  few  casual 
notices  of  the  experiment.  (11).  The  firm  wished  to  have 
a  scientific  selection  of  salesmen  made  from  a  group  of  thirty- 
six  applicants.  It  was  arranged  that  six  managers  should 
interview  the  applicants  and  rate  each  by  his  own  method. 
The  results  show  the  unreliability  of  haphazard  methods  of 
appraisal.  The  managers  did  not  agree  as  to  whether 
twenty-eight  of  the  thirty-six  applicants  belonged  in  the 
upper  or  lower  half  of  the  group.  One  of  the  men  was  rated 
as  Number  One  and  as  Number  Thirty-two,  another  as 
Number  Thirty  and  as  Number  Three,  which  shows  the  lack 
of  uniformity  in  personal  judgments. 

John  M.  Bruce  of  the  American  Tobacco  Company  has 
applied  certain  standard  tests  that  have  proved  useful  in 
that  industry.  He  claims  that  they  determine  "fitness, 
imagination,  discernment,  tenacity,  address  and  personality/' 
Each  test  is  given  a  definite  stated  value,  and  the  employee  is 
rated  according  to  his  deviation  from  the  average  standing 
of  the  group.  (12). 

Thirty  of  the  Efficiency  Experts  employed  by  the  Cheney 
Silk  Manufacturers  were  examined  by  Prof.  Scott  and  the 
results  of  the  tests  correlated  with  the  rating  made  by  their 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     9 

supervisors  gave  an  index  of  plus  .87.  Cheney  Bros,  now  use 
a  series  of  psychological  tests  when  interviewing  applicants 
for  high  grade  clerical  and  executive  position,  or  when  con- 
templating promotions.  (13). 

The  firm  of  Joseph  &  Weiss  rely  in  a  large  measure 
upon  the  results  obtained  from  psychological  tests  in  their 
selection  of  both  executives  and  operatives.  They  especially 
emphasize  the  value  of  the  Directions  Tests  and  state  that 
these  tests  check  up  accurately  in  nearly  every  case  with  the 
status  of  the  men  in  the  ranking  made  by  their  bosses.  (14). 
The  Dallas  Consolidated  Railway  Company  (15)  used  a 
series  of  tests  which  was  composed  of  questions  and  a  device 
designed  specifically  to  test  the  powers  of  observation  of  the 
workmen.  It  consists  of  a  contrivance  representing  a  trolley 
track  and  various  obstructions  to  traffic.  The  test  is  based 
on  Prof.  Hugo  Munsterberg's  method  for  selecting  Sea 
Captains  and  is  supposed,  in  this  case,  to  determine  a  man's 
ability  to  think  and  act  with  speed  and  good  judgment  in  an 
emergency.  They  use  also  a  set  of  cards  which  are  to  be 
sorted  according  to  the  letter  which  predominates. 

These  methods  of  investigation  have  proved  so  valuable 
in  the  selection  of  their  employees  that  the  length  of  service 
of  all  train-men  has  been  increased  seventy-seven  percent 
in  less  than  five  years. 

The  Curtis  Publishing  Company  also  apply  tests  ar- 
ranged by  Prof.  Munsterberg  as  supplementary  evidence  in 
determining  the  efficiency  and  accuracy  of  their  steno- 
graphers and  clerks.  (16). 

The  Bell  Telephone  Company  have  used  Prof.  Munster- 
berg's tests  to  determine  the  degree  of  dexterity,  memory, 
attention,  accuracy  and  intelligence  possessed  by  would-be 
employees,  and  report  satisfactory  results.  (17). 

In  his  excellent  book  entitled  "Hiring  the  Worker" 
Roy  Wilmarth  Kelly  discusses  various  applications  of  psycho- 
logical tests.  Mr.  Kelly  found  that  eighteen  of  the  thirty 
firms  to  whom  he  sent  questionnaires  had  separate  depart- 
ments for  hiring  employees  and  that  all  save  two  had  been 
established  about  1912.  Each  of  these  Employment  Depart- 
ments had  analyzed  the  tasks  demanded  of  the  worker,  had 
recorded  findings,  and  were  endeavoring  to  solve  the  problem 
of  the  labor  turnover.  He  states  that  only  three  of  the  firms 
were  using  psychological  tests.  One  firm  was  much  inter- 
ested in  the  results  he  had  obtained  from  three  tests.  An- 
other firm  had  used  tests  to  avoid  hiring  those  who  were 
mentally  unfit,  and  another  firm  had  found  tests  useful  in 
preventing  the  promotion  of  the  mentally  incapable.  In  all 
these  cases  the  tests  were  employed  not  as  vocational  guides 
but  to  discover  the  limitations  of  the  individuals.  One  firm, 
to  be  sure,  was  formulating  some  psychological  aids  to  assist 


10    PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

in  the  selection  of  employees.  They  were  using  a  General 
Intelligence  Test,  a  Card-Sorting  Test,  a  Word-Building  Test, 
a  Trabue  Completion  Test  and  a  Cancellation  Test.  No  data 
regarding  results  or  methods  was  given.  (18). 

Some  good  work  in  the  application  of  scientific  methods 
to  sales-management  has  been  done  by  St.  Elmo  Lewis  who 
lays  particular  stress  upon  the  psychological  elements  in- 
volved. He  criticizes  the  fact  that  too  few  managers  analyze 
with  precision  both  the  job  and  the  ability  of  the  man  who  is 
to  execute  it,  and  urges  the  necessity  for  the  two  operations. 
(19). 

Wm.  F.  Kemble  in  his  recent  book,  "Choosing  Employes 
by  Test,"  sets  forth  very  clearly  that  painstaking  analysis  is 
needed  to  differentiate  between  men  who  are  engaged  in  even 
as  simple  matter  as  lifting  weights,  and  shows  how  time 
may  be  saved  by  determining  which  men  are  adapted  to 
handling  specific  degrees  of  weight.  (20). 

One  of  the  most  comprehensive  studies  of  the  use  of 
psychological  tests  under  working  conditions  in  a  repre- 
sentative industry  is  to  be  found  in  "Employment  Psych- 
ology" by  Henry  C.  Link.  The  first  half  of  this  book 
deals  with  the  application  of  psychology  to  the  selection  of 
employes;  the  second  half  deals  particularly  with  its  appli- 
cation to  the  training  of  new  employes,  the  keeping  of 
records  of  their  activities,  and  a  discussion  regarding 
methods  of  transfer  and  promotion.  The  entire  trend  of 
the  work  described  is  a  scientific  attempt  to  attain  the  appli- 
cant's view-point.  He  urges  the  use  of  tests  which  will 
discover  the  applicant's  potential  skill,  his  innate  ability, 
and  his  general  intelligence  and  the  amount  of  his  ex- 
perience. He  gives  accurate  directions  for  the  presentation 
of  a  number  of  tests  and  the  method  of  marking  and  re- 
cording results.  (21) 

In  an  article  in  "Industrial  Management"  for  April  1920, 
Dr.  Spaeth  tells  a  story  of  a  manager  of  a  large  plant  who, 
as  the  result  of  the  presentation  of  tests  for  general  intel- 
ligence, discovered  among  his  employes  many  with  "unsus- 
pected brains" !  These  fortunate  "finds"  he  immediately  ad- 
vanced to  the  benefit  of  both  factory  and  the  individuals. 
Dr.  Spaeth  quotes  the  results  of  a  few  tests  made  on  a  large 
number  of  girls  engaged  in  the  inspection  of  shells  for  rifle 
cartridges.  The  "inspectors"  who  were  recommended  because 
of  their  excellent  standing  in  the  tests  worked  much  more 
intelligently  and  for  longer  periods  than  did  those  girls  who 
received  marks  below  the  average  in  tests.  (22). 

Myer  Bloomfield  has  analyzed  recently  the  routine  duties 
of  the  employes  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most  progressive 
firms  in  Newark,  New  Jersey.  Changes  have  been  made  in 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     11 

the  firm's  organization  as  a  result  of  his  study  of  both  the 
employes  and  the  executives.  He  analyzed  all  the  different 
tasks  of  the  concern  and  arranged  tests  to  fit  each  one.  Dr. 
Bloomfield  is  now  connected  with  the  Vocational  Bureau  of 
Boston  and  is  carrying  on  work  there  of  a  similar  character 
in  a  larger  field.  (23). 

During  the  year  1917,  F.  F.  Taylor  of  the  Metropolitan 
Life  Insurance  Company  formulated  a  questionnaire  which 
he  presented  to  the  employes.  The  results  give  an  insight 
into  the  individual  characteristics  of  the  men,  and  proved 
advantageous  in  reorganizing  the  personnel.  (24). 

Mons.  Jaques  has  excellent  success  in  choosing  typists 
and  stenographers  by  means  of  pschological  tests  and  reports 
high  correlations  with  the  subsequent  standing  of  the  girls 
in  their  actual  output.  (25). 

In  the  Manhattan  Trade  School  a  series  of  tests  is  ad- 
ministered to  see  whether  a  girl  has  sufficient  mental  capacity 
to  make  her  intensive  manual  training  advisable.  The 
Woodworth  &  Wells  Directions  Tests  and  the  Easy  Opposites 
are  among  the  tests  usually  given.  (26).  Dr.  K.  Murdock 
has  completed  a  Sewing  Scale  by  which  the  work  done  by 
these  girls  may  be  graded. 

Some  of  the  findings  of  the  Committee  on  Employment 
appointed  by  the  National  Association  of  Corporation  Schools 
are  of  interest  because  of  their  reference  to  psychological 
testing.  In  their  report  for  1919  it  is  stated  that  "the 
number  of  instances  in  which  tests  have  been  successfully 
applied  warrants  the  belief  that  their  use  can  be  extended 
to  other  industries."  They  announce  also  that  the  "purpose 
of  psychological  tests  is  conservative  and  their  technique 
sane,"  and  add  that  the  success  of  any  application  of  them 
depends  wholly  "upon  the  seriousness  and  thoroughness  with 
which  the  testing  is  done."  (27). 

Any  resume  of  the  application  of  psychological  tests 
to  workers  in  industry  would  be  incomplete  if  it  did  not 
include  some  account  of  the  tests  conducted  by  Dr.  Helen 
T.  Woolley  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  To  quote  from  her  own 
statement,  she  says,  "The  Bureau  of  Vocational  Guidance 
has  for  its  ultimate  object  the  comprehensive  study  of  the 
problem  of  child  labor  with  a  view  to  furnishing  scientific 
demonstration  of  the  effect  of  labor  upon  children  who  enter 
industry  early."  The  children  tested  were  a  group  of  eight 
hundred  boys  and  girls,  over  fourteen  years  of  age  who  came 
to  the  Working  Certificates  Office  during  the  year  1911-1912 
to  secure  working  papers.  They  were  tested  in  serial  order 
whenever  they  chanced  to  apply  at  the  office.  The  scheme 
made  provision  that  each  of  the  children  should  be  retested 
mentally  and  physically  each  of  five  succeeding  years.  (28). 


12     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

In  connection  with  the  study  made  by  Dr.  Woolley,  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Cincinnati,  under  the  direction  of 
Supt.  H.  C.  Storm,  has  undertaken  a  survey  of  the  general 
industrial  situation  of  that  city.  He  has  organized  the 
Public  School  System  so  that  it  may  co-operate  with  the 
shops  especially  in  reference  to  the  printing  industry  which 
is  an  important  one  there.  The  work  is  still  in  an  experi- 
mental stage,  and  the  results  have  not  been  published. 

Bernard  Muscio  in  his  "Lectures  on  Industrial  Psych- 
ology", discusses  the  question  of  the  desirability  of  the  appli- 
cation of  psychology  to  industry.  He  demonstrates  that  by 
adapting  psychological  methods  to  industry  it  has  been  found 
possible  to  obtain  a  given  output  from  a  smaller  expenditure 
of  human  energy  than  has  hitherto  been  found  necessary, 
and  he  urges  Psychology  to  turn  to  its  laboratories  again  in 
order  to  better  what  has  been  done  and  devise  practical  ways 
for  furthering  its  application  to  industrial  work.  (29). 

It  seems  probable  that  much  of  the  social  unrest  in  the 
world  is  due  to  the  misfits  in  the  industrial  world.  The 
worker's  lack  of  interest  in  the  task  assigned  to  him,  and 
often  almost  total  inaptitude  for  the  work  makes  him  a 
drifter.  The  concensus  of  opinion  on  industrial  conditions  is 
that  it  costs  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  dollars  to  train  a  person 
for  a  position.  Each  individual  manager  is  well  aware  of  the 
costly  and  discouraging  features  involved  in  the  constant 
changes  of  his  personnel.  But  many  of  these  managers  must 
still  be  convinced  that,  at  least  to  a  large  degree,  this  bugbear 
of  all  industrial  management,  the  labor  turn-over,  can  be  cut 
down  by  the  exercise  of  greater  care  in  engaging  employees 
who  are  suited  to  their  jobs. 

The  history  of  Vocational  Psychology  has  been  one  of 
trial  and  error,  and  it  needs  must  be  conducted  empirically  for 
a  long  time  to  come.  In  its  very  essence  it  is  made  up  of 
variable  elements  for  some  jobs  change  character  almost 
from  day  to  day,  and  the  instability  of  the  human  element 
is  readily  conceded.  In  any  review,  then,  that  one  makes  of 
the  subject  of  psychological  testing  one  should  note  that  the 
Vocational  Tests  are  still  for  the  most  part  in  the  experi- 
mental stage.  There  are  no  cut  and  dried  methods  that  apply 
to  all  industries  alike.  Each  one  must  solve  its  own  problems. 
(30). 

Tests  have  been  standardized  successfully  in  only  about 
seven  special  lines  of  work  other  than  "trades."  The  tests 
for  the  "trying  out"  of  typists,  stenographers,  correspondents, 
labellers,  clerical  workers,  inspectors,  seamstresses  and  sales- 
men have  all  proved  satisfactory  and  the  norms  established 
in  each  are  reliable.  (31). 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     13 


The  Trade  Tests  that  were  being  standardized  for  use 
in  the  Army  under  the  direction  of  The  Committee  on  the 
Classification  of  Personnel  have  not  yet  been  published. 
They  were  devised  for  some  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  different 
types  of  trades  and  will  doubtless  be  of  greatest  value  when 
given  to  the  public  in  the  interest  of  vocational  guidance. 
Dr.  Chapman  has  described  certain  tests  applicable  in  about 
thirty  trades,  and  in  his  book  entitled,  "Trade  Tests"  gives 
accurate  directions  for  their  use.  (10). 

The  study  described  in  this  paper  was  undertaken  to 
demonstrate  the  value  to  be  derived  from  the  application  of 
psychological  tests  in  a  hitherto  unexplored  field  of  industry. 
In  addition  to  performing  this  function,  the  investigation  is 
destined  to  give  us  information  regarding  the  general  intel- 
ligence of  a  certain  group  of  women  and  girls  who  are  earning 
a  livelihood  in  industrial  work.  The  mentality  of  delinquent 
women  has  been  subjected  to  painstaking  examination,  (32), 
but  the  mental  development  of  women  factory  hands,  none  of 
whom  have  failed  to  adjust  themselves  to  social  requirements, 
has  received  inadequate  attention. 


Chapter  II. 
THE  FACTORY  AND  ITS  SPECIFIC  PROBLEMS. 

Every  time  it  is  definitely  proved  that  the  reactions  to 
any  test,  or  to  any  group  of  tests,  provide  a  means  for  the 
measurement  of  the  capacity  of  candidates  for  a  certain  type 
of  industry,  a  distinct  service  is  rendered,  not  only  to  the 
employer,  but  to  all  potential  employees. 

The  Experimenter  secured  the  co-operation  of  E. 
Eisemann  &  Company,  owners  of  a  Feather  and  Fancy  Orna- 
ment Factory  situated  at  63  West  38th  Street,  New  York 
City,  and  received  permission  to  submit  their  employees  to  a 
series  of  psychological  tests. 

Several  days  were  spent  in  observing  the  work  of  the 
factory  and  studying  the  operations  in  the  different  depart- 
ments. The  Experimenter,  although  not  actually  serving  at 
the  bench,  tried  out  each  type  of  work  herself  so  that  the 
analysis  might  be  as  accurate  as  possible.  Various  members 
of  the  firm,  as  well  as  the  heads  of  departments  and  the 
factory  hands  themselves,  were  interviewed  and  the  Experi- 
menter was  able  to  profit  by  many  of  the  suggestions  they 
made. 

The_  Manager  said  that  he  had  relied  largely,  when  en- 
gagingrismployees,  upon  the  impression  made  upon  him  by 


the  general  appearance  of  the  applicant  and  hor__roplio8 
"  he  would  save  time  if  he^\ 

have  a  more  scientific  method  on  which  to  base  his 


__ 
is  questions,  but  he  addecTthat  he  would  save  time  if 


decisions.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  his  method  did  not 
permit  him  to  Higpnvpr  natural  aptif-.j^pa  and  he  therefore 
formed  his  concepts  of  character  and  ability  from  nhfmrvatlon 
alone.  He  would  be  glad,  he  said,  to  utilize  a  series  of  tests 
by  which  he  might  sort  out  applicants  for  employment,  or 
use  when  promotions  were  to  be  made. 

Before  analyzing  the  characteristics  which  employees  in 
this  factory  should  possess,  a  careful  study  of  each  type  of 
work  had  to  be  made. 

The  factory  is  divided  into  six  distinct  departments  as 
follows : 

FANCY   DEPARTMENT 

SELECTING  DEPARTMENT 

BENDING  &  FINISHING  DEPARTMENT 

14 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS  15 

BOA  DEPARTMENT 
DYEING  DEPARTMENT 
ERRAND  DEPARTMENT 

The  work  in  the  "Fancy  Department"  consists  of  sewing, 
glueing  and  assembling  in  endless  combinations  all  sorts  of 
feather  materials  in  duplication  of  a  presented  model.  This 
jiecessitates  the  exercise  of  judgment,  discrimination,  .the 
ability  to  follow  instructions  and  dexterity  both  with  the 
jteedleand  with  the  fingers!  If  a  girl  be  imbued  witkjni: 
agination,  initiative  and  creative  ability,  she  is  encouraged 
to  originate  models  of  her  own  design?  In  general,  a  higher 
jjrder^of  mentality  than  that  required  in  the  other  depart- 
ments is^cfemaridecl  of  the  workers  in  this  field,  and  conse- 
quently these  girls  receive  the  highest  salaries. 

The  greatest  _jiurnber  of  girls  is  employed  in  the 
"Selecting  Department"  where  the  task  consists  of  sorting  the 
feathers  according  to  their  length  and,  width.  This  requires 
the  exercise  of  the  powers  of  concentration  and  observation 
and  demands  a  rapid  visual  estimate  which  must  be  accurate. 
"^STfair^degree  bTdScrmnnAH^isneedeSy  This  work  is  of 
a  monotonous  nature  and  involves  the  continual  exercise  of 
the  same  muscels  of  the  body  and  of  the  same  elements  of  the 
mind.  Since  the  work  is  monotonous  and  not  particularly 
interesting  thejajjoj^urnavejiis  greateaL-La-thia  department. 
The  work  is  divided  into  two  sections,  one  which  the  raw 
feathers  are  sorted  and  the  other  in  which  the  dyed,  finished 
product  is  assembled. 

The  "Benders  and  Finishers"  are  engaged,  as  the  de- 
signation implies,  in  the  work  of  forcing  the  feathers  into 
certain  predetermined  shapes.  Manipulative  skill,  a_jgreat 
deal  of  patiencean^dsuj^iejit_inlfiiligencp  to  ..follow  instuc- 
tlons  areneedecT  Attention  is  the  most  important  factor 
upon^wTTich  demand  is  made. 

In  the  "Boa  Department"  the  work  requires  the  same 
dexterity  and  persistency  but  under  more  trying  circum- 
stances since  the  bits  of  feather  to  be  assembled  are  very 
small  and  accuracy  in  manipulation  must  not  be  sacrificed 
to  speed.  Girls  of  a  nervous  temperament  are  sorely  tried  by 
work  of  this  character  and  rarely  accomplish  the  same  amount 
of  work  with  the  same  amount  of  exactness  as  do  fellow- 
laborers  blessed  with  a  more  phlegmatic  disposition. 

The  "Dyeing  Department"  employs  more  men  ,  than 
women  and  its  secrets  were  not  divulged  beyond  tTie  fact  that 

and-aAir  degree  of  intelligence 


are_jiecessary  ^requisites.     Only  two  girls   (167  &  117)  from 
tHIs  department  were  tested. 

In  the  "Errand  Girl  Division"  the  work  consists  mostly 
of  fetching  and  carrying  from  one  department  to  another. 


16     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

The  youngest  and  least  experienced  girls  do  this  work,  usually 
serving  an  apprenticeship  as  errand  girls  before  being  trans- 
ferred to  one  of  the  other  departments.  It  was,  therefore, 
deemed  of  interest  and  importance  to  give  them  tests  to  deter- 
mine for  whlcjL  type_offactory  work  they  were  best  suited. 
As  Errand  Girls  per  se,  ar3ai£-in£in£r^^ 

ness  and  co-operation  as  well  as  good  comprehension  are 
obviously  the  most  essential  characteristics  demanded. 

Racially,  the  workers  might  be  divided,  either  by  birth 
or  descent,  into  four  fairly  distinct  groups  consisting  of 
Austrians,  Irish,  Italians  and  Russians.  The  factory  manager 
stated  that  he  endeavored  to  keep  these  groups  more  or  less 
distributed  so  that  there  would  be  slighter  danger  of  labor 
union  interference  and  the  disturbance  which  would  of 
necessity  be  caused  when  Jewish  and  other  holidays  occurred. 

In  reply  to  questions  regarding  their  attendance  at  school, 
thirty- two  of  the  subjects  said  that  they  had  been  graduated 
from  the  Public  or  Parochial  Schools  of  New  York  City. 

One  girl  had  left  school  when  in  the  Third  Grade;  three 
when  in  the  Fourth  Grade;  two  when  in  the  Sixth  Grade; 
seventeen  when  in  the  Seventh  Grade;  and  eight  when  in 
Grade  Eight.  The  remainder  "could  not  remember"  what 
grade  they  were  in  when  they  last  attended  school.  Although 
the  Experimenter  was  unable  to  verify  these  statements, 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  are  in  the  main  truthful. 

TABLE  ILLUSTRATING  ABOVE  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

Graduated  of  P.  S.  or  Parochial  Schools 32 

Left  school  when  in  grade  indicated, 

Third 1. 

Fourth    3. 

Fifth .... 2. 

Sixth i 7. 

Seventh    17. 

Eighth A 8. 

Did  not  recall 5. 

Total  No.  of  subjects 75. 

When  asked  at  what  age  they  had  last  attended  school, 
the  replies  indicate  that  the  average  age  of  those  who  left 
school  before  they  were  graduated  was  14.5  years  and  the 
average  age  of  those  who  did  graduate  was  13.73  years  at  the 
time  of  graduation.  This  suggests  that  the  first  group  is 
composed  of  persons  of  a  slower  and  less  keen  mentality  than 
is  to  be  found  in  the  second  group. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     17 

Many  of  the  subjects  regretted  their  lack  of  education  yet 
said  that  they  had  been  able  to  do  their  factory  work  fairly 
well  and  they  seemed  to  like  it  in  spite  of  its  rather  limited 
possibilities,  that  is  they  probably  preferred  work  to  school. 
They  had  all  left  school  without  having  acquired  any  definite 
industrial  or  business  training  and  it  was  by  mere  chance  that 
they  had  drifted  into  this  type  of  work.  An  introduction  by 
relatives  or  friends  already  in  the  factory  was  the  decisive 
factor.  There  had  been  no  consideration  of  the  suitability 
of  the  person  for  the  job. 

The  subjects  ranged  in  age  from  fourteen  to  fifty,  but 
the  majority  were  between  sixteen  and  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  as  is  indicated  in  this  table: 


Ages        14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  36  40  50 
No.,  1     3     5  15  12    7  12     4    4     6     3     3     1     1     1     1 


The  spirit  of  the  employed  force  was  wholesome  and 
pleasant.  The  Employer  provided  sick  benefits,  a  service 
of  free  umbrellas  and  rubbers  on  rainy  days,  a  small  cir- 
culating library,  and  at  more  or  less  frequent  intervals,  social 
events  which  were  arranged  either  by  the  firm  directly  or  by 
the  employees  with  the  aid  and  support  of  the  firm. 

There  were,  therefore,  no  ulterior  and  difficult  factors 
to  be  overcome  before  the  testing  was  begun.  No  artifical 
or  abnormal  conditions  that  required  adjustment  seemed  to 
exist. 

While  analyzing  the  jobs,  the  question  of  what  tests  to 
use  was  borne  constantly  in  mind.  There  should  be,  it 
it  seemed,  an  estimate  of  the  level  of  intelligence  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  individual  and  of  the  various  groups 
engaged  in  the  performance  of  the  different  types  of  work. 

The  Management  emphasized  especially  the  importance 
of  ascertaining  the  capacity  of  a  subject  to  comprehend  and 
carry  out  instructions,  so  Directions  Tests  must  be  given  to 
measuie  UiiiTparticuTar  ability. 

In  addition  to  these  estimations,  the  perception,  memory, 
judgment  and  reliability  of  the  employee  should  be  de- 
termined. She  should  be  tested  also  as  to  her  aptitude  for 
making  eye-hand  co-ordinations.  Her  steadiness  of  control 
and  concentration  when  a  monotonous  task  is  demanded  of 
her  should  by  all  means  be  measured. 

The  degree  of  dexterity  she  possesses,  her  sense  of 
color  and  proportion  should  in  some  way  be  demonstrated 
by  the  test-results. 


18     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

The  tests  eventually  chosen  are  described  in  the  next 
chapter.  Just  what  distinctive  mental  traits  are  denoted  by  an 
ability  to  perform  this  or  that  specific  test  cannot  be  definitely 
determined.  There  is  too  much  over-lapping  of  mental 
qualifications  to  make  this  possible,  but  we  can,  in  a  measure, 
suggest  some  of  the  most  important  abilities  demanded  in 
the  execution  of  the  different  tests. 


Chapter  III. 
THE  TESTS. 

In  order  to  establish  test  conditions  as  nearly  standard 
as  possible  the  co-operation  of  practically  every  one  in  the 
factory  was  sought  and  readily  obtained.  In  addition,  a 
spirit  of  keen  interest  in  the  tests  and  of  friendliness  toward 
the  Experimenter  was  created  which  aided  materially  in  the 
testing.  The  reasons  for  the  investigation  were  explained 
to  each  one  in  turn.  There  was  difficulty  in  gaining  the  con- 
fidence of  but  one  of  the  subjects,  an  older  woman,  who  felt 
that  she  was  about  to  be  submitted  to  some  indignity  that 
reflected  upon  her  age  and  long  connection  with  this  business. 
She  became  interested,  however,  before  she  had  progressed 
very  far  with  the  tests,  finally  confessed  that  she  used  to  love 
school  and  wished  she  could  have  "gone  higher."  In  the 
testing,  therefore,  little  need  be  discounted  on  the  score  of 
nervousness  or  a  lack  of  co-operation. 

The  seventy-five  subjects  who  were  examined  by  these 
tests  and  whose  records  are  discussed  later,  spoke  English 
readily  and  possessed  a  vocabulary,  which  if  limited  in  scope, 
was  yet  used  with  perfect  understanding  and  significance. 

The  Manager  permitted  the  employees  to  leave  their 
work  for  the  tests,  and  since  no  recreation  time  was  en- 
croached upon,  they  were  grateful  for  this  break  in  the  dull 
monotony  of  their  daily  tasks  and  reacted  in  a  cheerful 
manner.  In  several  cases,  subjects  expressed  a  positive 
delight  in  the  tests  which  one  of  them  described  as  "grand 
fun." 

-The  tests  were  conducted  in  the  Rest  Room  of  the 
Factory  and  extended  over  a  period  of  many  weeks.  The 
workers  were  examined  singly,  a  proceeding  that  is  probably 
unprecendented  in  the  history  of  the  testing  of  factory  hands. 

Before  the  actual  testing  was  begun,  the  workers  were 
made  familiar  with  the  method  of  examination  by  a  series 
of  preliminary  tests  the  results  of  which  were  neither 
recorded  nor  used.  This  was  done  largely  to  eliminate  the 
initial  nervousness  which  fear  of  the  "unknown"  might  have 
instilled  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  the  girls. 

Each  subject  was  given  an  identification  number  which 
appeared  on  all  her  test  sheets.  To  distinguish  between  her 
identific  number  and  the  order  given  her  in  the  firm's 
ranking,  100  was  added  to  each  identifying  numeral.  Thus 

19 


20     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

all  numbers  over  100  refer  to  the  examiner's  classification, 
while  all  numbers  below  100  refer  to  the  firm's  classification. 

A  stop  watch  was  used  and  the  time  required  for  the 
performance  of  each  test  was  recorded. 

The  Experimenter  found  as  did  Dr.  Link,  (21),  that 
unless  the  stop  watch  is  concealed  from  the  subject's  view, 
she  is  inclined  to  be  nervous  and  distracted  by  the  idea  that 
she  is  being  timed.  Only  in  certain  tests  were  time-limits 
enforced.  Limitations  as  to  time  would  have  defeated,  in  a 
measure,  one  of  the  secondary  aims  of  this  investigation, 
namely,  to  HAtpr^inp  how  fhp  fimp  records  of  these  girls 
wJKx_are  all  engaged  in  factory  work,  compare  with  ihose  #f 
Bother  types  of  subjegtsl 

The  directions  were  given  orally  because  it  was  found 
that  the  girls  follow  spoken  instructions  much  more  success- 
fully than  written  ones.  The  test  sheets  were  kept  face 
down  until  the  subject  was  directed  to  begin. 

Instead  of  devising  many  new  tests,  it  seemed  wise  to 
employ  tests  in  which  norms  could  be  used  for  comparative 
purposes.  No  detailed  description  of  these  tests  is  necessary 
inasmuch  as  they  are  widely  known.  The  new  tests  which 
were  arranged  solely  for  use  in  this  particular  type  of  in- 
dustry are  discussed  under  the  Sixth  Group  of  Tests. 

The  mode  of  presentation  and  of  scoring  these  Special 
Tests  is  in  the  Appendix. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  tests,  presented  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  used: 

I.  General  Intelligence  Binet-Simon 

(Goddard  Revision.) 

II.  Association  Tests  Woodworth  &  Wells 

A.  Easy  Opposites. 

B.  Mixed   Relations   No.    1. 

C.  Mixed  Relations  No.  2. 

D.  Substitution. 

III.     Cancellation  Tests. 

A.  Digits  Cancellation. 

B.  Letter  Cancellation. 

VI.     Linguistic  Tests. 

A.  Trabue  Completion. 

B.  English-African  Proverb  Test-Ruger. 

V.     Directions  Tests. 

A.  Easy  Directions  No.  1. 

B.  Easy  Directions  No.  2. 

C.  Hard  Directions. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    21 

VI.     Special  Tests  for  this  Industry. 

A.  Judgment  Test. 

B.  Card  Sorting  Test. 

C.  Sorting  Test. 

D.  Discrimination  of  Color  Test. 

E.  Motor  Control  Test. 

F.  Feather  Sorting. 

G.  Weight  and  Form  Test. 

SPECIAL  TESTS  FOR  THIS  INDUSTRY. 

These  tests  were  arranged  to  call  forth  the  different 
types  of  activity  demanded  in  the  several  departments  of  the 
Factory. 

Since  the  Selectors  must  judge  feathers  from  the  view- 
point of  length,  width  and  color  as  well  as  quality  and 
suitability,  Tests  A.,  B.,  C.,  D.  and  F.  should  be  especially 
desirable  to  aid  in  the  discrimination  of  workers  in  this 
department. 

The  Boa  and  Stringer  Department  requires  some  ability 
to  form  judgments  and  a  great  deal  of  motor  control,  hence 
Tests  A.  and  E.  should  be  found  useful  indices  of  the  best 
workers  in  this  department. 

For  the  Fancy  Department  Tests  A.  and  D.  seem  to  be 
indicated  particularly. 

The  tests  that  require  discrimination  and  quickness  of 
perception  may  very  profitably  serve  to  demonstrate  the 
degrees  of  proficiency  attained  by  the  various  employees. 

The  Sorting  Tests  and  the  Discrimination  of  Weight 
and  Form  Tests  should  reveal  the  manual  dexterity  possessed 
by  the  girls. 

The  determination  of  the  general  intelligence  of  a  girl, 
and  her  ability  to  comprehend  and  carry  out  instructions 
given  her  have  been  left  to  criteria  established  by  the 
tests  in  which  norms  have  already  been  ratified.  The  cor- 
relations derived  from  a  comparison  of  the  standing  of  the 
members  of  this  group  in  the  tests  and  their  rating  in  the 
work  of  the  factory  is  described  in  detail  in  Chapter  Five. 

The  application  of  several  tests  has  been  employed  in 
each  case  rather  than  the  arbitrary  presentation  of  a  limited 
number  of  tests.  Ability  in  one  test  compensates  for 
deficiency  in  another,  hence  to  present  tests  requiring  dif- 
ferent mental  functions  is  the  fairest  way  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  individual's  capacity. 


Chapter  IV. 

A  DISCUSSION  OF  THE  REACTIONS. 
I.  The  Binet-Simon  Test. 

This  test  as  arranged  by  Dr.  Goddard  (33)  was  presented 
in  the  prescribed  manner  to  each  of  the  seventy-five  subjects. 

The  mental  ages  of  the  individual  in  the  group  range 
from  8.6  to  12.  with  the  crude  mode  at  11.2.  Twenty-nine 
fall  below  the  mental  age  of  11  and  only  two  attain  a  rating 
of  12.  One  employee  passed  but  one  test,  (X-l),  above  the 
8th  year,  and  two  others  received  a  mental  age  of  9.4  and  9.6, 
respectively.  The  girls  who  had  the  lowest  grades  of  mental 
development  were  found,  with  two  exceptions,  to  be  working 
on  the  boas,  or  bending  feathers,  or  sorting  them. 

The  distribution  of  mental-age  on  the  Binet  Scale  may  be 
observed  by  an  inspection  of  this  table  in  which  the  mental 
age  is  indicated  and  the  percentage  of  subjects  obtaining 
each  age  is  given  beneath  it.  The  Median  Age  is  11:  S.  D. 
is  1.1358. 


Mental  Age 

12 

11.8 

11.6 

11.4 

11.2 

11 

10. 

%  of  Subjs. 

3% 

12* 

11% 

9% 

18% 

8% 

11% 

Mental  Age 

10.6 

10.4 

10.2 

10. 

9.6 

9.4 

8  8 

%  of  Subjs. 

11% 

8% 

3% 

3% 

1% 

1% 

1% 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  results  of  this  group, 
measured  by  the  Binet-Simon  Scale,  compare  with  the  records 
made  by  other  groups. 

Dr.  Katherine  B.  Davis  (34)  in  her  Study  of  Prostitution 
in  New  York  City  writes  that  among  647  women  at  the  Bedford 
Reformatory  examined  by  the  Binet  tests,  there  were  but 
two  who  measured  12  years  mentally,  twenty-six  measured 
11,  and  forty-four  obtained  a  mental  age  of  10.  The  rest 
were  below  10  mentally. 

In  this  Bedford  group,  one-third  of  one  percent  had  a 
perfect  score  compared  to  2.66  per  cent  in  our  factory  group ; 
and  while  only  four  percent  of  the  former  group  ranged  in 
mental  age  from  11  to  11.8.,  inclusive,  fifty-eight  per  cent,  in 

22 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    23 

our  group  reached  a  mental  age  ranging  from  11  to  11.8 
Furthermore,  whereas,  6.8  per  cent  reached  a  mental  age  of  10 
to  11  in  the  Bedford  Group,  thirty-four  percent  received  a 
like  grading  in  the  factory  group.  We  may  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  this  selected  group  of  factory  girls  is  of  a  higher 
type  of  mentality  than  the  delinquents.  Their  opportunities 
along  educational  and  social  lines  have  been  similar  and  one 
is  led  to  deduce  from  a  comparison  of  the  results  of  these 
tests  that  the  radical  differences  in  the  two  groups  are  due  in 
large  measure  to  variations  in  native  capacity. 

The  Binet-Simon  tests  conducted  by  Dr.  Olga  Bridgman 
and  Dr.  L.  Morrow  at  the  State  School  for  Girls  at  Geneva, 
Illinois,  show  that  but  six  of  the  girls  are  capable  of  passing 
the  12-year  Test.  Fourteen  of  the  sixty  tested  were  retarded 
from  one  ,to  three  years,  and  the  remaining  forty  were 
retarded  more  than  three  years.  The  girls  were  all  over 
sixteen  years  of  age.  That  is  eleven  were  retarded  from 
four  to  five  years  and  twenty-nine  from  six  to  thirteen  years. 
(35). 

In  giving  the  Yerkes  adaptation  of  the  Binet-Simon  Test 
to  a  group  of  mill-operatives,  Dr.  Yerkes  found  that  errors 
were  committed  in  all  but  three  of  twenty  tests.  In  a 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  group,  to  whom  the  same  tests  were  given,  errors 
were  made  in  all  but  five  of  the  tests.  Both  of  these  groups 
consisted  presumably  of  persons  who  had  as  good  or  better 
schooling  than  had  the  factory  girls,  yet  errors  were  made 
in  nearly  every  test.  One  can  make  no  exact  comparison 
between  the  Goddard  revision  and  the  Yerkes  adaptation  of 
the  Binet,  but  this  notation  seems  of  interest  inasmuch  as 
basically  the  two  tests  are  alike.  (36). 

In  the  "Report  on  Sensory  and  Mental  Tests"  made  at 
the  Idaho  Industrial  Training  School,  the  author  states  that 
no  attempt  was  made  to  apply  any  tests  above  the  12-year 
Scale  of  the  Goddard  Rivision  of  the  Binet-Simon  Test.  All 
subjects  who  passed  the  12-year  Tests  were  counted  normal. 
Eighty-three  received  a  rating  of  12.,  while  fifty-five  tested 
below  twelve  and  were  consequently  called  sub-normal.  (37). 

In  his  results  obtained  from  a  study  of  "The  Measure- 
ments of  Delinquents,"  T.  H.  Haines  (38)  states  that  among 
the  one  thousand  individuals  to  whom  he  gave  the  Binet- 
Simon  Test,  five  hundred  sixty-three  were  rated  below  the 
12th  Year.  In  this  connection,  he  speaks  of  the  fact  that 
some  examiners,  who  use  this  scale,  class  those  who  measure 
below  12  as  Feeble-minded,  and  he  proceeds  to  disprove  the 
method  of  classification  that  arbitrarily  places  the  standard 
of  demarcation  at  12  years. 

The  rigid  application  of  such  a  rule  as  this  would  place 
all  save  two  of  the  Factory  Group  tested  in  this  experiment 
in  the  sub-normal  category,  an  obviously  absurd  classification. 


24     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Both  Prof.  E.  L.  Thorndike  (39)  and  Dr.  Stern  (40) 
have  shown  the  inaccuracy  of  the  Binet  rating  above  the  age 
of  9  Years,  and  it  must  be  conceded  that  to  place  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  normal  and  the  Feeble-minded  at 
the  12- Year  level  on  the  Binet  Scale  is  arbitrary  and  scien- 
tifically questionable.  The  amount  of  retardation  that  makes 
it  impossible  for  an  individual  to  manage  her  affairs  varies 
with  the  individual  and  is  to  a  large  degree  dependent  upon 
her  environment.  In  factory  work,  a  girl  of  high  intel- 
ligence is  not  necessarily  the  most  desirable.  One  may  note 
in  this  investigation  that  girls  who  have  a  mental  age  of 
10  years,  or  thereabouts,  are  making  good  in  this  factory. 

Let  us  next  consider  the  individual  tests  of  the  Binet 
Scale,  ranked  in  order  of  difficulty,  beginning  with  the  one  in 
which  most  errors  occurred. 

This  proved  to  be  the  repetition  of  sentences  (XII.-3), 
in  which  87  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  failed.  The  dissected 
sentences  came  next  with  62  per  cent,  incorrect;  while  56  per 
cent,  of  the  girls  yielded  to  suggestion;  47  per  cent,  could 
not  repeat  seven  digits  (XI-1)  in  two  out  of  three  trials; 
47  per  cent  lacked  sufficient  visual  memory  and  analytical 
skill  to  reproduce  the  two  designs  (X-2) ;  44  per  cent,  were 
unable  to  discriminate  between  small  differences  in  weight 
(IX-5) ;  29  could  not  repeat  six  digits  two  out  of  three  trials 
(X-3) ;  12  per  cent,  failed  to  give  definitions  of  "Charity," 
"Justice"  and  "Goodness"  (XII-2) ;  and  12  per  cent,  were  un- 
able to  construct  a  sentence  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
Tenth  Year  (XI-5) ;  10  per  cent,  were  unable  to  answer  the 
Comprehension  questions  (XI-4) ;  9  per  cent,  gave  the  defini- 
tions of  simple  objects  in  functional  terms  only  (IX-2) ;  6  per 
cent,  did  not  give  sixty  free  associations  in  three  minutes 
(XI-3) ;  5  per  cent,  of  the  girls  did  not  see  the  absurdities 
(XI-1) ;  2  per  cent,  could  not  repeat  the  names  of  the  months 
without  more  than  one  error  (XI-4) ;  and  one  person  (151) 
could  not  make  change. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  subject  finds  the  Binet  test 
difficult  in  proportion  to  the  time  that  has  elapsed  since  his 
formal  education  ceased,  but  our  results  reveal  nothing  con- 
clusive on  this  point.  There  are  as  many  failures,  com- 
paratively, among  those  fresh  from  school  as  among  the  older 
girls  and  women  who  have  been  out  of  school  many  years. 
School  Training  to  judge  from  an  inspection  of  the  table 
given  below,  has  not  influenced  to  any  extent  the  rating  on  the 
Binet  Scale  of  the  members  of  this  group.  In  this  table,  the 
employees  are  arranged  on  the  basis  of  their  grade  on  leaving 
school.  The  failures  in  the  individual  Binet  Tests  are  indicated 
and  the  range  in  mental  age  of  each  group  of  those  who  left 
school  when  in  a  like  grade  are  noted.  It  may  be  observed 
that  the  type  of  failures  do  not  differ  much  from  one  group  to 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    25 


another.  Thus,  some  public  school  graduates  have  a  mental 
age  of  10.2  while  other  subjects  who  left  school  from  the 
4th.,  5th.,  or  6th.  grade  have  received  a  mental  age  of  10.2; 
11.2;  11.8  etc. 

This  peculiarity  is  in  keeping  with  results  obtained  in 
the  testing  of  other  groups,  notably  the  Army  Group,  where 
it  was  found  that  some  of  the  highest  intelligence  records 
were  made  by  men  who  stated  that  they  had  never  completed 
the  Elementary  Grades. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  we  are  justified  in  concluding 
that  the  Binet-Simon  Test  is  a  measure  of  General  Intelli- 
gence and  native  capacity  which  does  not  depend  to  any 
great  extent  upon  school  drill. 

TABLE  3.     THE   BINET  SIMON    TEST    RESULTS    ANALYZED    ON 
THE  BASIS  OF  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE. 

Group  I.  The  thirty-two  subjects  in  this  group  are  gradu- 
ates of  Public  or  Parochial  Schools.  Their  mental 
ages  range  from  10.2  to  12.  The  different  tests  in 
which  these  subjects  failed  to  receive  credit  are 
noted  below  under  the  special  test  indicated: 


IX 


XI 


XII 


(Mental  Age). 


5 

4 

2 

8 

3    4 
5    2 

5 
1 

2 

6 

3 

1 

4    5 
111 

1 
12 

2    3 
118 

4 
15 

5 

7 

(Test  Number). 
(No.  of  Subjs.). 

Group  II.  The  seven  subjects  in  this  group  left  school  in 
the  Eighth  Grade.  Their  errors  are  indicated  as 
above.  Their  mental  ages  range  from  10.6  to  11.8. 


XI 


XI 


XII 


(Mental  Age) 


5 
3 

2 
6 

3 
1 

1 

,     2 

2 
2 

3 
6 

4 
6 

5 
2 

(No. 
(No. 

of 
of 

Test). 
Errors)  . 

Group  III.  Tfye  nineteen  subjects  in  this  group  all  left  school 
when  in  the  Seventh  Grade.  Their  errors  are 
indicated  in  the  same  manner  as  are  those  of 
Grade  I.  The  mental  ages  in  this  group  range 
from  10.2  to  11.8. 


26     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 
IX  X  XI  XII  (Mental  Age) 


2 

8 

3 
5 

4 
3 

5 

1 

3 
2 

5 
12 

1 
12 

2     3 
11  14 

4 
17 

5 

6 

(No. 
(No. 

of  Test), 
of  Errors). 

Group  IV.  The  twelve  subjects  who  left  school  when  in 
grades  ranging  from  the  Third  through  the  Sixth 
Grade.  Their  mental  ages  range  from  8.6  to  11.6., 
inclusive. 


IX  X  XI  XII  (Mental  Age). 


5 

7 

2345 
6333 

2345 
2517 

12345 
61952 

(No.  of  Test). 
(No.  of  Errors). 

Group  V.  Five  subjects  could  give  no  definite  information 
regarding  their  school  history.  The  mental  ages 
of  these  subjects  range  from  9.6  to  11.8. 

IX  X  XI  XII  (Mental  Age). 


5 
2 

2 
3 

3  4 
2  1 

5 

1 

2 
1 

3  4 
2  1 

5 
3 

1 
1 

2  3 
2  2 

4  5 
4  2 

(No.  of  Test). 
(No.  of  Errors). 

Since  the  only  Auditory  Memory  Tests  used  were  those 
included  in  the  Binet  Scale,  a  brief  discussion  of  their  results 
is  of  interest.  Fifty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  have  at 
least  a  seven  digits  memory  span,  and  of  this  fifty-seven 
percent,  two  subjects  passed  all  the  Binet  Tests;  two  obtained 
a  mental  age  of  10.4 ;  two  of  10.6 ;  three  of  10.8  and  three  of 
11  ;  the  remainder  were  about  evenly  divided  between  the 
mental  ages  of  11.2  through  11.8.  Those  who  had  but  a 
six  digits  memory  span  comprised  thirty-two  per  cent.  These 
ersons  obtained  the  following  ratings  on  the  Binet  Scale: 
hree  per  cent,  were  rated  9.4;  10.4;  and  11.6,  respectively;  and 
six  per  cent,  of  this  six  digits  memory  span  group  had  a  mental 
ge  of  10.2  and  the  same  per  cent,  of  the  six-digits  group  ob- 
ained  a  mental  age  of  11. 

The  Five-Digits  Memory  Span  Group  consisted  of  eleven 
per  cent,  of  the  subjects,  and  they  measured  8.6  (one  only), 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    27 

9.6  (one  only),  10.4  (two  only),  10.6  (two  only),  while  the 
remainder  were  graded  10.8  and  11.  mentally. 

Thirty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  Bedford  Reformatory  women 
have  a  Memory  Span  of  not  more  than  six  digits;  and  thirty 
per  cent,  fail  to  recall  even  that  number.  (31). 

In  experiments  with  one  hundred  sixty-five  college 
students,  Gates  (41)  found  that  the  average  memory  span  for 
the  group  was  7.7  digits. 

The  result  obtained  from  the  auditory  memory  tests 
applied  to  this  group  of  Factory  Girls  have  been  analyzed  and 
given  a  Four  Grade  rating.  Grade  A  denotes  that  the  em- 
ploye has  at  least  a  seven-digits  memory  span  and  has  also 
been  able  to  repeat  after  the  Experimenter  a  sentence 
containing  twenty-three  syllables.  Grade  B  signifies  that  the 
subject  cannot  repeat  any  one  of  the  three  sentences  verbatim, 
but  does  possess  the  ability  to  repeat  seven  digits.  Grade  C 
shows  that  the  subject's  memory  span  is  limited  to  six  digits; 
and  Grade  D  indicates  that  the  subject  has  a  five  digits 
memory  span  only.  This  method  of  rating  the  auditory 
memory  of  a  subject  gives  a  basis  for  a  fairly  explicit  type  of 
group  analysis  that  is  useful  in  determining  the  concentration 
of  employees  in  different  departments  of  the  factory. 

Investigating  still  further  the  mental  qualities  requisite 
for  workers  in  this  factory,  the  reproduction  of  the  two 
designs  was  found  to  have  some  "vocational  value."  It  is 
an  exercise  that  is  quite  on  a  par  with  the  mental  effort 
required  from  the  workers  in  the  Fancy  Department  in  du- 
plicating models  submitted  to  them  for  reproduction.  This 
is  so  true  that  those  who  failed  utterly  in  this  test  were 
invariably  found  to  be  employed  in  other  then  the  fancy 
Department. 


28     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

The  accompanying  reproductions  of  these  designs  in- 
dicate how  far  astray  some  of  the  subjects  went  in  visualizing 
the  models  presented. 


1/Z/t 


It  is  obvious  from  an  inspection  of  the  following  Table 
that  employees  who  fail  most  decidedly  in  these  tests  are 
not  disqualified  for  work  in  the  Selecting,  Boa  and  Bending 
Departments.  It  cannot  be  chance  that  no  one  employed  in 
the  Fancy  Department  has  failed  in  the  test. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    29 


Identification 

Rank  on  Firm-Scale 

Dept.  of  Factory 

103 

71 

Boa-Stringer 

107 

35 

Selecting 

118 

73 

Boa 

121 

46 

Selecting 

128 

69 

Bender-Twister 

135 

45 

Selecting 

151 

74 

Selecting 

160 

67 

Selecting 

163 

20 

Selecting 

164 

18 

Selecting 

168 

30 

Selecting 

WOODWORTH  &  WELLS  ASSOCIATION  TESTS. 

I.     Easy  Opposites.   (42). 

This  test  was  presented  in  the  usual  manner.  The  sub- 
ject was  asked  if  she  understood  what  is  meant  by  an 
"Opposite,"  and  three  illustrations  were  given  her.  She  was 
then  told  to  give  the  opposites  of  "Yes,"  "High"  and  "Wet." 
If  the  girl  was  unable  to  do  this  correctly,  the  directions  were 
repeated  and  the  words,  "Big"  and  "Up"  used  as  further 
illustrations. 

In  spite  of  these  careful  preliminary  explanations,  errors 
occurred  which  showed  that  the  problem  had  not  been  properly 
digested.  An  analysis  of  the  erroneous  reactions  reveals  a 
failure  to  carry  over  an  idea  that  in  several  previous  cases  had 
appeared  to  be  perfectly  understood,  or  else  the  inability  to 
differentiate  between  words  that  sound  alike  yet  have  a 
different  meaning  and  are  spelled  differently.  There  are 
still  other  instances  in  which  an  attempt  at  a  definition  has 
been  made,  and  some  reactions  seem  only  explicable  on  the 
ground  that  associative  processes  were  aroused  by  the  stimulus 
word  alone  and  the  initial  reaction  was  written  without  further 
thought. 

"East"  and  "West"  are  reactions  of  this  type,  when 
given  as  opposites  of  "North."  It  is  probable  that  had  the 
subjects  making  these  responses  been  catechized  orally  on 
this  particular  opposite  each  one  would  have  known  that 
South  is  the  opposite  of  North.  As  an  opposite  of  "Slow"  one 
finds  "Weak";  and  as  an  opposite  of  "Weak"  one  finds 
"Thin,"  "Sick,"  "Brave"  and  "Well";  and  evidently  mistaking 
Weak  for  Week,  some  subjects  gave  "Day"  or  "Month."  At- 
tempting to  define  the  terms,  subjects  gave  "Tall"  and  "Big" 
as  antonyms  of  "Large" ;  "Beyond"  as  an  opposite  of  "Above," 


30     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

and  "Delicate"  as  the  opposite  of  "Good."  Bua  the  mental 
proceses  which  prompted  such  reactions  to  "After"  as  "Now," 
"Seen,"  "Beyond,"  "Late,"  "Went,"  "For,"— are  not  easy  to 
analyze.  The  opposite  of  "Love"  resulted  in  many  failures 
among  which  are  "False  Friend,"  "Mariage"  and  "Dont  love 
you."  "Come"  brought  forth  such  reactions  as:  "Went," 
"Going,"  "Stay,"  "Before,"  "Gone,"  "Don't  be  gone"  and 
caused  more  errors  than  any  of  the  other  stimulus  words. 

No  one  neglected  to  give  the  correct  opposites  for  "Rich" 
and  "Dark,"  although  they  apparently  are  no  less  difficult 
seems  probable  that  errors  are  due  quite  as  much  to  a  state 
of  mental  sluggishness  as  to  a  lack  of  linguistic  knowledge, 
than  some  of  the  words  that  were  frequently  missed.  It 

The  average  reaction  time  for  this  group  was  89.1 
seconds;  the  average  deviation  in  time  was  25.92  seconds 
and  the  standard  deviation  in  time  was  34.75  seconds.  The 
time  range  is  from  29  seconds  to  218." 

The  average  score  was  93.64  per  cent,  with  an  A.D.  of 
6.84  and  S.  D.  of  30.45.  The  median  score  was  95  per  cent. 
The  range  in  score  from  60  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent,  on  the 
basis  of  5  per  cent,  credit  for  each  correct  response.  No 
half-credits  allowed. 

In  the  tests  conducted  by  Dr.  Bronner  upon  a  group  of 
delinquent  girls,  she  reports  a  range  of  time  in  the  Easy 
Opposites  Test  of  35"  to  145",  while  in  her  Evening  Settle- 
ment Group,  the  time  range  was  from  37"  to  130".  In  the 
Servant  Girl  Group,  there  was  a  time  range  of  52"  to  215". 
The  delinquent  girls  had  no  perfect  scores,  though  some  of 
the  subjects  missed  only  one-half  of  one  opposite.  (45). 

The  reports  made  by  the  Servant  Girl  Group  in  the  Op- 
posite Test  show,  according  to  Dr.  Bronner,  scores  in  which 
there  were  only  5.,  6.,  11.,  12.  and  13  correct  opposites.  In  our 
group,  the  poorest  performance  was  credited  60  per  cent, 
or  twelve  opposites  right,  and  33.3  per  cent,  had  perfect 
scores.  Furthermore,  Dr.  Bronner  permitted  half-credits 
which  has  not  been  done  in  our  scoring.  While  the  entire 
lists  of  words  were  not  exactly  the  same,  they  were  of  equal 
difficulty,  approximately. 

The  probable  reason  for  the  prolonged  reaction  time  of 
the  Factory  girls  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  wrote  their 
own  responses.  The  girls  in  Dr.  Bronner's  group  did  not 
write  their  own  reactions,  and  in  the  Easy  Opposites  Test 
conducted  by  Dr.  Weidensall  (32)  at  Bedford  Reformatory, 
the  reactions  were  written  for  the  poorer  half  of  the  subjects. 
These  discrepancies  in  method,  unfortunately,  make  it  im- 
possible to  offer  any  exact  comparisons  as  to  the  time-records 
of  these  various  groups. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     31 

2 — The  Substitution  Test. 

This    test    was    presented    in    order    to    determine    the 

rapidity  with  which  new  associations  are  formed  by  repetition. 

The  practical  problem  is  to  combine  the  greatest  possible 

speed  with  the  smallest  number  of  errors  and  consider  both 

factors  proportionately. 

The  time  score  is  the  chief  guide  because  the  mistakes 
are  negligible, — six  as  a  maximum,  and  a  perfect  score  in 
the  majority  of  cases.  Yet  our  aim  must  be  to  find  a  formula 
which  gives  full  value  to  both  time  and  error  and  makes  the 
material  directly  comparable  in  the  form  of  one  numerical 
value  instead  of  two.  In  scoring,  the  method  of  penalties 
described  by  Prof.  Munsterberg  was  employed.  (46).  By  this 
method,  the  approximate  range  of  both  the  quantitative  and 
qualitative  performance  was  found  and  then  the  units  on  the 
quantitative  range  were  equated  with  the  units  on  the  quali- 
tative range.  The  method  equates  time  and  speed,  and  by 
evaluating  the  results  of  the  tests  in  this  way  a  general  con- 
clusion as  to  the  employees'  efficiency  may  be  made. 

The  average  time  score  of  the  factory  girls  in  this  test 
was  176.5  seconds  with  an  A.  D.  of  23.36.,  and  a  S.  D.  of  37.4". 
The  time  range  was  from  95"  to  348.5". 

Since  the  errors  in  this  group  ranged  from  1  to  6,  this 
makes  the  penalty  for  an  error,  40.8"  according  to  the  method 
described  above,  and  the  employees  were  arranged  in  rank 
order  of  merit  in  the  test  on  the  basis  of  this  penalization 
for  errors. 

When  this  test  was  presented  by  Woodworth  and  Wells 
to  eleven  adults  the  average  time  required  for  the  test  was 
144.7  seconds,  with  a  Standard  Deviation  of  12.5"  and  a  range 
in  time  of  111  seconds  to  176.5  seconds.  (43). 

The  average  time  for  the  first  half  of  the  test  in  the 
Woodworth  and  Wells  Group  was  79.66  seconds  in  contrast  to 
92.4"  required  by  the  Factory  girls  to  do  a  similar  portion. 
The  second  half  of  the  test  was  performed  by  the  Woodworth 
and  Wells  Group  in  65.1",  while  the  factory  girls  required  on 
an  average  84.2"  to  do  the  latter  half  of  the  test. 

Dr.  Weidensall  (31)  reports  a  greater  time  range  than 
that  of  the  factory  group.  The  Bedford  women  had  a  time 
range  of  181.16  seconds  to  618.5  seconds.  The  average  re- 
action time  for  the  first  half  of  the  test  was  176.83  seconds 
and  for  the  second  half  was  118.23  seconds.  One  is,  therefore, 
justified  in  concluding  that  new  associations  are  formed 
more  slowly  by  the  delinquents  than  by  this  particular  group 
of  factory  workers,  who,  in  turn,  required  a  longer  time  and 
revealed  a  wider  time  range  than  did  the  adult  group  examined 
by  Prof.  Woodworth  and  Dr.  Wells. 


32     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

B.  Mixed   Relationship  Test  No.   1 

Before  presenting  this  test,  the  Experimenter  assured 
herself  that  the  subject  understood  fully  what  she  was  to  do. 
Three  examples  were  given  her,  outside  of  course,  of  those 
submitted  in  the  examination;  thus,  Knee  is  to  leg  as  Elbow 
is  to?  Shoes  are  to  feet  as  Hats  are  to?  Chew  with  one's 
teeth  and  Sew  with  one's?  In  this  particular,  a  deviation  was 
made  from  the  regulation  procedure.  It  will  be  recalled  also 
that  in  this  and  in  all  other  tests,  directions  were  given 
orally.  During  the  trial  testing,  the  subjects  appeared  un- 
accustomed to  written  instructions,  and  asserted  that  they 
never  made  written  lists  of  commissions  to  be  remembered, 
and  rarely,  if  ever,  received  other  than  spoken  orders.  This 
change  in  method  seemed,  therefore,  tp  be  wholly  justifiable. 

Inasmuch  as  this  test  requires  more  linguistic  knowledge 
than  the  giving  of  Easy  Opposites,  the  scores  obtained  are 
correspondingly  lower. 

The  average  score  was  61.11  per  cent.;  the  average 
deviation  was  37.62.  There  were  three  perfect  scores.  The 
median  score  was  65  per  cent.  Scores  ranged  from  10  per 
cent,  to  100  per  cent.  The  Standard  Deviation  was  44.82. 

The  average  time  required  for  the  test  was  196.7";  the 
A.  D.  was  53.45;  the  S.  D.  was  70.73  seconds.  The  time 
ranged  from  93  seconds  to  400.4  seconds. 

Woodworth  and  Wells  give  an  average  reaction  time  for 
a  single  response  of  3.14  seconds,  while  the  time  required 
for  a  single  test  in  the  factory  group  was  approximately  6.83 
seconds.  The  subjects  in  the  former  group  were  college 
students  habituated  to  intellectual  exercises,  and,  therefore, 
scarcely  comparable  to  the  factory  girls  in  a  test  of  this 
kind.  (44). 

The  errors  that  occurred  in  this  test,  analyzed,  reveal  an 
inability  to  adjust  ideas  in  a  new  and  unwonted  manner.  The 
failure  to  "carry  over"  a  conception  from  one  situation  to 
another  was,  as  in  the  previous  test,  the  most  frequent  type 
of  mistake.  The  repetition  of  one  or  another  of  the  three 
words  given  instead  of  a  reaction  to  the  third  word  only 
often  occurred.  In  a  few  instances,  perhaps  simply  to  avoid 
leaving  a  blank  space,  words  that  had  appeared  previously 
were  written.  Some  of  the  reactions  can  be  accounted  for  in 
no  other  fashion. 

A  few  illustrations  of  the  typical  errors  are  given  below ; 
the  words  supplied  are  bracketted. 

Eagle— Bird— Shark   (Bird,  Snake) . 

Eat— Bread— Drink   (Starve,  Glass,  Eat) . 

Fruit— Orange— Vegetable    (Eat,  Meat,  Orange). 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     33 

Sit— Chair— Sleep    (Well,   Walk,   Lay,   Lie, 

Rest,  Night,  Awake,  Asleep). 
Double— Two— Triple   (Double,  Single,  Twice, 

Fish,  Babies). 
England— London— France    (Germany,   Italy, 

Spain,  French,  State,  City,  Country). 
Chew— Teeth— Smell    (Chew,  Mouth,  Gum,  Odor, 

Flowers,   Taste,   Perfume,   Gas,   Good). 
Pen— Write— Knife   (Knife,  Fork,  Tool,  Write,  Sharp, 

Sight). 

Water— Wet— Fire (Water,  Out,  Red,  Sticks,  Shrink). 

He— Him— She    (He,  Him,  Then,  It,  Woman). 

Boat — Water — Train —   Car,  Engine,  Elevator,  Machine, 

Runs). 
Crawl— Snake— Swim    (Snake,  Water,   River,  Bath, 

Swam,  Walk,  Float,  Flew,  Quick). 
Horse — Colt — Cow    (Colt,   Kein,   Dumb   Animal,   Bull, 

Pig,  Dog,  Milk,  Chew). 

Nose — Face — Toe (Finger,  Face,  Head). 

Bad— Worse— Good   (Bad,  Best,  Pure,  Well,  Excellent). 

Hungry — Food — Thirsty    (Hungry,   Starved,  Dry). 

Hat— Head— Glove  (Glove,  Head,  Shoe,  Wear). 

Ship — Captain — Army (Navy,  Leader,  Battle,  Regiment, 

Men,   Land). 
Man — Woman — Boy   (Woman,  Male,  Child,  Men) . 

C  Mixed  Relations  No.  2 

This  test  appeared  as  No.  1.  in  the  Monograph  (14),  but 
is  here  designated  as  No.  2  inasmuch  as  it  was  given  after 
the  other  Mixed  Relations  Test  numbered  2  in  the  Monograph. 
The  results  are  similar  both  in  time  and  score. 

The  average  reaction  time  was  192.4  seconds;  the  A.  D. 
was  56.25  seconds;  the  S.  D.  was  72.38  seconds.  There  was 
a  time  range  of  66  seconds  to  330  seconds. 

The  average  score  was  63.76  per  cent. ;  the  A.  D.  in  score 
was  18.36;  the  S.  D.  was  29.46;  the  median  was  65  per  cent. 
The  crude  mode,  or  the  score  that  was  obtained  by  the 
majority  was  85  per  cent.  The  scores  ranged  from  100  per 
cent,  to  15  per  cent. 

Instead  of  giving  a  list  of  the  errors  as  was  done  in  the 
previous  tests,  the  different  types  of  erroneous  reactions  have 
been  analyzed;  thus, 

1.  Repetition  of  one  of  the  other  of  the  given  terms,  as,  Ear — 
Hear — Eye — Hear;  or  Hour — Minute — "Hour." 

2.  The  use  of  a  term  that  is  descriptive  of  the  third  word 
as,  H  a  m  m  e  r — Tool — Dictionary — (Words — E  ncyclopedia — 
Meaning  Describes). 


34     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

3.  The  introduction  of  a  word  that  bears  a  certain  relation- 
ship to  the  third  word  but  is  not  the  relation  demanded,  as, 
Wash— Face— Sweep — (Clean  Broom) ;  or  (Sky— Blue  Grass 
— Grows — Ground — In  The  Park). 

4.  The  insertion  of  a  word  which  suggests  the  completion  of 
the  thought  as  in  this  case. — Buy — Sell  Come — (Here — Listen 
In —  Home — Away). 

5.  There  was  noticeable  also  a  tendency  to  insert  a  rhymed- 
associate    to    the    third    word,    as,    Straw — Hat — Leather — 
"Feather":     and     Hammer — Tool — Dictionary — Tarry:     and 
Little — Less — Much — "Such" :     and     Once — One — T  w  i  c  e — 
"Nice";  Oyster— Shell— Banana— "Anna" :    and  Sky— Blue— 
Grass— "Glass":  and  Buy— Sell— Come— "Some." 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  by  what  process  of  reasoning 
this  type  of  reaction  was  arrived  at,  inasmuch  as  the  only 
correct  verbal  relation  that  rhymes  is  the  first  one  i.  e.  Eye 
— See — Ear — "Hear"  and  evidently  this  first  impression  "held 
over."  There  was,  however,  no  consistency  shown  by  the 
subjects  making  these  reactions,  none  of  them  attempted  to 
find  rhymes  for  all  the  words  supplied. 

6.  Other  failures  were  due  to  a  lack  of  linguistic  knowledge  or 
an  endeavor  to  define  a  stimulus  word  instead  of  fulfilling  the 
conditions  of  the  test,  as.,  for  instance,  Little — Less — Much 
—"Let— Not  Enough." 

Many  of  these  reactions  reveal  a  groping  for  the  right 
word,  but  a  failure  to  grasp  the  relationship  between  the  first 
two  words  clearly  enough  to  reproduce  it  in  an  analogous  case. 

In  this  type  of  test  the  speed  of  the  reaction  depends 
on  maintaining  the  proper  adjustment  throughout  the  series. 
Extraneous  ideas  must  not  be  permitted  to  enter.  Confusion, 
therefore,  as  shown  in  the  failure  to  "carry  over"  the  crux 
of  the  problem,  indicates  a  lack  of  control  and  suggests  that 
the  subject  who  cannot  form  logical  connections  between  ideas 
is  inefficient. 


Cancellation  of  Digits — The  figure  2. 

In  this  test  the  subject  is  required  to  cross  off  the  figure 
"2"  in  a  prepared  form  which  contains  this  as  well  as  many 
other  digits.  The  methodology  was  the  customary  simple 
explanation  of  the  problem,  and  the  admonition  to  "begin 
at  the  first  line  and  cross  off  as  rapidly  and  carefully  as 
possible  all  the  figure  "2s."  The  stop-watch  was  started  when 
the  subject  turned  over  the  sheet  and  stopped  when  she 
finished  the  last  line.  Some  subjects  traversed  alternate 
lines  from  right  to  left.  Two  or  three  attempted  to  cross  off 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    35 

the  digits  along  the  vertical  rather  than  the  horizontal  lines. 
This  tended  to  increase  instead  of  lessen  the  time,  involved 
a  waste  of  energy,  and  because  of  a  diffusion  of  attention  re- 
sulted in  many  omission  of  digits.  The  fact  that  one's  eyes, 
move  from  left  to  right  in  reading  makes  this  the  more 
natural  movement  in  performing  this  test. 

Five  subjects  complained  of  eye-strain  as  the  result  of 
the  close  application  required  by  the  task.  The  time  con- 
sumed by  these  subjects  did  not  vary  materially  from  that  of 
the  average  performance. 

The  average  time,  regardless  of  errors,  was  201.5  seconds. 
The  time  ranged  from  330  seconds  to  120  seconds.  Eight 
persons  had  a  perfect  score.  One  subject  omitted  seventeen 
twos.  The  average  number  of  errors  was  4.5. 

The  same  system  of  penalties  for  errors  was  employed 
as  that  described  in  the  Substitution  Test.  On  the  basis  of 
the  results  of  this  scoring  method,  the  subjects  were  arranged 
in  rank  order  so  that  comparisons  with  other  test  records 
could  be  made. 

The  fact  that  the  more  intelligent  of  the  subjects  failed 
to  make  a  high  score  in  either  time  or  accuracy  may  be  due 
to  the  rather  uninteresting  material  of  the  test.  The  sub- 
jects of  a  lower  grade  of  mentality  seized  the  test  with 
avidity  as  if  saying,  as  one  girl  actually  did:  "Here  is 
something  I  can  do  easy."  The  task  would  seem  to  throw 
some  light  on  whether  or  not  a  person  is  willing  to  perform 
routine  work  . 


B.  Cancellation  of  the  Letter  A. 

There  were  more  errors  of  omission  in  this  than  in  the 
previous  test.  Two  persons  failed  to  cross  off  32  of  the  A-s, 
one  omitted  49!  The  number  of  errors  ranged  from  one, 
then,  to  49;  while  thirteen  subjects  had  perfect  scores.  The 
average  number  of  errors  was  nine.  The  median  score  on  a 
percentage  basis  deducting  one  for  every  error  irrespective 
of  the  time  required  was  90  per  cent.;  100  per  cent,  perfect. 
The  A.  D.  was  6.95. 

The  average  time  scored  was  132.5  seconds.  There  was  a 
range  in  time  of  295  seconds:  the  best  time  scored  was  68 
seconds,  the  longest  time  required  was  363  seconds.  The  A.  D. 
in  time  was  35.19  seconds. 

According  to  the  Columbia  University  records,  the  A 
Cancellation  Test  requires,  on  an  average,  95  seconds.  (47). 

The  test  has  been  given  to  various  groups.  Chambers 
reports  the  average  time  for  the  test  as  75  seconds  (48) ; 
Wallin  as  100  seconds  (49);  while  Doll  (50),  Burt  (51),  and 


36     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Wyatt  (52)  report  the  average  time  for  the  test  as  approxi- 
mately 100  seconds.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  average 
time  for  the  factory  group  is  so  much  longer,  because,  in 
general,  they  react  more  slowly  than  do  the  normal  members 
of  group  accustomed  to  doing  a  great  deal  of  writing.  The 
motor  co-operations  necessary  showed  among  the  older  women 
disuse  in  a  marked  degree.  For  them,  the  task  of  writing 
their  responses  involves  an  actually  laborious  application  of 
unaccustomed  motor  activity. 

In  reporting  the  results  of  this  test  in  his  experiments 
in  testing  twins  (53),  Prof.  Thorndike  did  not  count  errors 
though  they  occurred  in  about  one-third  of  the  cases.  The 
time  element,  he  says,  is  the  important  factor  in  the  test  and 
accuracy  may  be  made  subservient  to  it. 

In  scoring  the  test,  for  the  purposes  of  this  investigation, 
however,  it  seemed  expedient  to  use  the  method  of  penalties 
employed  in  the  previous  test.  The  subjects  were  given 
a  rank  order  of  merit  rating  on  the  basis  of  the  speed  and 
accuracy  demonstrated  by  each  individual. 

Dr.  Weidensall  contrasts  the  performance  of  her  group 
in  this  test  with  that  of  the  Working  Girls  that  Dr.  Woolley 
examined  in  Cincinnati,  and  found  the  Bedford  Group  are 
slower  in  this  simple  task  of  checking  letters  than  the 
working  girls  were.  (31).  Only  a  small  per  cent,  of  the 
Reformatory  women  were  as  able  as  the  more  efficient  type 
of  maid  in  cancelling  letters  with  accuracy  and  speed.  The 
scores  made  by  the  Factory  Girls  compared  to  those  of  the 
Bedford  Group  show  marked  differences  in  rate,  the  factory 
girls  performing  the  task  in  a  shorter  time. 

The  Bedford  Group  have  a  time  range  of  610.4  seconds 
to  84.1  seconds  which  is  4  per  cent,  longer  than  the  longest  time 
record  of  the  Factory  Girls.  The  best  record  of  the  Bedford 
Group  is  1.9  per  cent,  slower  than  the  best  record  made  by  the 
girls  at  the  Factory. 


WOODWORTH-WELLS— DIRECTION    TESTS. 

The  person  who  is  able  to  carry  out  directions  promptly 
and  accurately  is  of  great  value  in  any  business  or  industrial 
concern.  This  firm  wished  particularly  to  have  a  scientific 
estimate  made  of  each  employee  in  regard  to  this  ability. 
The  three  tests  arranged  by  Prof.  R.  S.  Woodworth  and  F.L. 
Wells  were  therefore  given.  The  two  Easy  Directions  Tests 
were  followed  by  the  Hard  Directions  Test.  (54). 

The  reading  time  of  these  tests  varied  greatly  with  the 
subjects,  and  although  as  the  authors  state,  "The  directions 
were  made  as  concise  as  possible  in  order  that  the  time  re- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     37 

quired  for  the  mere  reading  might  not  be  a  determining 
factor,"  yet  in  this  group  there  were  to  be  noted  individual 
differences  of  wide  range  in  the  time  consumed  in  reading  and 
grasping  the  significance  of  the  text.  Let  us  consider  each  test 
in  turn. 

Easy   Directions  No.   1. 

This  set  of  twenty  questions  was  performed  correctly  by 
forty  per  cent,  of  the  subjects.  The  directions  are  so  simple 
that  there  were  few  mistakes;  a  failure  to  react  at  all  was 
more  frequent  than  a  wrong  response.  Thirty-eight  per  cent, 
of  the  errors  were  those  of  omission  due  either  to  carelessness 
or  to  a  lack  of  comprehension  of  the  problem  involved. 

Each  direction  is  numbered  from  1  to  20.  The  errors 
having  been  tabulated,  the  questions  are  arranged  in  order 
of  their  difficulty  beginning  with  that  question  in  which  the 
most  errors  occurred,  which  happens,  in  this  case  to  be  the 
last,  No.  20. 

Number  20 — Cross  off  the  last  word  in  this  sentence. 

Nineteen  per  cent,  crossed  off  the  last  letter  in  the  word 
Sentence,  instead  of  following  directions  and  crossing  off 
the  entire  word  "Sentence."  One  omission  and  a  line  drawn 
through  the  first  word  rather  than  the  last  were  the  on^ 
other  errors  in  this  test. 

Number  6 — Write  the  sum  of  these  numbers  3 — 4. 

This  proved  a  stumbling  block  to  eleven  per  cent,  of 
the  subjects  who  wrote  one  or  the  other  of  the  following 
numbers:  twelve,  one-and-a-quarter,  eight,  nine,  sixty, 
seventy-five  or  three-fourths.  Nine  per  cent,  omitted  the 
problem. 

Number  4.  Write  — | —  over  the  longer  word:  It  rained 
yesterday. 

Ninety-one  per  cent,  had  a  perfect  score.  Six  per  cent, 
omitted  the  question  and  three  per  cent,  wrote  one  or  the 
other  of  these  words,  "plus,"  or  "over"  or  yesterday." 

Number  3.     How  many  feet  makes  a  yard  ? 

Eighty-four  per  cent,  reacted  correctly.  Eleven  per  cent, 
stated  that  there  are  twelve  feet  in  a  yard,  one  said  "36" 
feet  and  the  question  was  omitted  by  three  per  cent. 

Number  13.  Make  two  dots  between  these  lines:  (lines 
drawn  here). 

This  was  done  in  92  per  cent,  of  the  cases.  Four  per 
cent,  made  but  one  dot,  instead  of  two  between  the  lines; 
while  three  per  cent,  put  two  dots  outside  of  the  lines  and 
one  per  cent,  did  not  do  anything  at  all. 

Number  12.  Write  g  on  the  egg-shaped  figure  (three 
designs  given.) 


38     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Ninety-four  per  cent,  did  this;  three  per  cent,  wrote 
"g"  on  the  wrong  figure,  and  the  remaining  3  per  cent,  did 
nothing. 

There  were  no  errors  in  the  other  directions.  The  average 
score  was  89.14  per  cent.;  the  Median  score  was  90  per  cent.; 
the  A.  D.  was  3.84  and  the  S.  D.  was  7.93. 

The  average  reaction  time  was  92.4  seconds;  there  was 
a  time  range  of  55  seconds  to  296,2  seconds.  The  A.  D,  was 
27.6;  the  S.  D.  was  35.34. 

The  average  reaction  time  required  by  the  Woodworth- 
Wells-group  of  educated  adults  was  72  seconds,  with  limiting 
records  of  46  and  114  seconds^ 


Easy  Directions  Test  No.  2. 
(Beginning   "Cross  out  the  smallest   dot"). 


This  test  is  of  practically  the  same  degree  of  difficulty 
as  the  preceding  test. 

As  in  the  other  test,  errors  of  omission  were  more  fre- 
quent than  any  other  sort. 

The  directions  are  numbered  from  1  to  20  inclusive. 
Those  in  which  errors  occurred  are  noted  below  in  the  order 
of  their  difficulty,  beginning  with  that  one  in  which  the  most 
errors  are  found. 

14.  Write  0  after  the  largest  number:    3,  86,  12. 

Thirty  per  cent,  wrote  0  above  86,  ten  per  cent,  wrote 
it  below.  Two  per  cent,  wrote  0  after  the  3,  and  two  per 
cent,  crossed  off  the  number  86,  while  two  per  cent,  failed 
to  react  at  all. 

15.  Mark  the  name  of  a  large  city:    New  York,  painter. 

Instead  of  doing  this  the  very  easiest  and  most  obvious 
thing,  twelve  per  cent,  wrote  one  or  the  other  of  the  following 
words:  New  York  City,  Paris  Fashions,  Pittsburg,  England, 
Chicago. 

7.    Write  any  word  of  three  letters. 

Four  per  cent,  wrote  words  of  four  letters  such  as  White, 
Word,  Good  and  Four.  Others  wrote  correctly  a  variety  of 
words  of  three  letters, — the  words  chosen  were:  eat,  two 
mar,  eye,  the,  how,  are,  got,  his,  dot,  any  and  cat.  The  last 
word  was  the  most  popular. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     39 

There  were  one  or  two  errors  in  the  remaining  directions, 
but  they  are  not  significant  nor  indicative  of  the  intelligence 
of  the  group. 

The  average  score  obtained  by  this  group  was  85.45 
per  cent.  The  median  score  was  83.72  per  cent.;  the  crude 
mode  was  100  per  cent.  The  A.  D.  was  6.84  and  the  S.  D.  was 
12.96. 

The  average  time  for  the  group  was  161.9  seconds;  the 
A.  D.  was  44.85  seconds,  the  S.  D.  was  56,78  seconds.  The 
time  range  was  from  44"  to  235". 

The  average  time  for  the  Bedford  Group  was  151.9 
seconds,  with  limiting  records  of  55  to  397.4  seconds.  (31). 

When  the  extreme  simplicity  of  both  this  and  the 
previous  Directions  Test  is  considered,  the  difficulty  which 
these  girls  experience  in  handling  written  work  is  apparent. 
In  observing  the  reactions  of  the  various  members  of  the 
group,  the  reading  over  of  the  directions  seemed  to  consume 
the  major  part  of  the  time.  Dr.  Weidensall  states  that  the 
best  quarter  of  her  subjects  at  Bedford  read  over  the  text  in 
40",  the  median  subject  in  50",  and  the  poorest  quarter  in 
90".  The  factory  subjects  showed  a  tendency  to  read  and 
reread  the  instructions,  and  although  admonished  to  "work 
as  rapidly  as  possible,"  this  inability  to  grasp  quickly  the 
meaning  of  the  printed  words  seemed  to  be  the  cause  for  the 
retarded  and  prolonged  reaction  times. 


3.  Hard  Directions  Test. 

This  test  measures  the  ability  to  read  complex  sentences 
and  understand  them  and  appreciate,  when  alternate  clauses 
are  given,  that  a  choice  is  to  be  made.  It  is  more  important 
that  the  idea  of  making  a  choice  be  comprehended  than  that 
the  correct  response  be  written.  In  scoring  a  system  of  allow- 
ing half  credits  was  arranged  so  that  the  significance  of  this 
feature  of  the  test  might  be  evaluated  properly. 

An  analysis  of  the  errors  made  in  the  test  follows.  The 
"directions"  have  been  numbered  and  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  their  difficulty,  those  in  which  the  most  mistakes 
occurred  placed  in  gradation  from  a  direction  in  which  51 
per  cent,  of  the  girls  failed  to  one  with  only  8  per  cent, 
failures. 

10.  "Write  NO  if  2  times  5  equals  10,"  was  an  injunction 
disobeyed  by  51  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  all  of  whom  wrote 
"yes.." 

8.  "Give  the  wrong  answer  to  this  question,  How  many 
days  are  there  in  the  week?"  elicited  a  response  of  "7"  from 


40    PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

48  per  cent.  There  were  five  omissions  and  the  remainder  of 
the  subjects  wrote  either  a  6,  9,  5,  10,  3  or  2.  The  digits  6 
and  9  were  the  favorites.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  no  one  wrote 
1,  3  or  4. 

20.  "Write  the  first  letter  of  your  first  name  and  the 
last  letter  of  your  last  name,"  proved  extremely  confusing. 
Eleven  per  cent,  failed  because  they  wrote  either  their  whole 
name  or  else  omitted  writing  anything  at  all.  Thirty-five 
per  cent,  wrote  the  initial  letters  of  both  their  first  and  last 
name  and  could,  therefore,  receive  but  half-credit. 

14.  and  15.  These  two  directions,  the  one  dependent 
upon  the  other  can  best  be  discussed  together:  "Notice  these 
two  numbers:  3;  5.  If  iron  is  heavier  than  water,  write  the 

larger  number  here /'but  if  iron  is  lighter  write  the 

smaller  number  here 

A  subject,  who  recognizing  the  force  of  the  alternate 
questions,  as,  for  instance,  a  subject  who  indicates  that  water 
is  heavier  than  iron  because  steamers  are  made  of  iron  and 
float,  should  receive  more  credit  than  one  who  makes  no 
choice.  Some  subjects  placed  numbers  in  both  of  the  blank 
spaces,  some  put  one  or  the  other  number  in  either  space. 
Since  this  type  of  response  showed  a  total  lack  of  comprehen- 
sion of  the  idea  of  choice  both  questions  were  called  failures. 
One-third  of  the  girls  were  unable  to  grasp  the  idea  of  choice 
and  failed  in  both,  and  three  per  cent,  omitted  to  fill  in  either 
space. 

17.  and  18.  "Give  the  correct  answer  to  this  question: 

Does  water  run  uphill  ? . . . .  and  repeat  answer  here " 

Twenty-five  per  cent,  either  omitted  any  reply  or  else  wrote 
the  word  "down-hill"  in  the  first  blank  only,  and  did  not 
repeat  the  aswer. 

19.  "Do  nothing  here  (5  plus  7  equals. . . .),  unless  you 
skipped  the  preceding  question."  This  question  came  next 
in  order  of  difficulty,  with  a  twenty-one  per  cent,  of  failures. 
Five  and  seven  were  added,  or  else,  ignoring  the  significance 
of  the  plus  sign,  the  digits  were  one  or  the  other  of  them 
copied  in  the  space,  or  else  the  plus  sign  was  interpreted  as 
a  sign  of  multiplification,  and  "35"  appeared  in  the  blank  space. 

11  and  12.  "Now,  if  Tuesday  comes  after  Monday,  make 

two  crosses  here (11).;  but  if  not,  make  circle  here 

or  else  a  square  here. . .  (12)."  These  alternate  choices  caused 
a  good  deal  of  confusion.  Twenty  per  cent,  failed  to  see  that 
a  choice  must  be  made,  and  thoughtlessly,  made  the  crosses 
and  inserted  a  circle  or  a  square  or  both  in  the  blank 
spaces.  Nine  per  cent,  omitted  the  question  entirely. 

16.  "Show  by  a  cross  when  the  nights  are  longer:  in 

summer? or  in  winter?" The  popular  error  in  this 

reply  was  to  put  a  cross  in  both  blanks,  which  was  a  com- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    41 

plete  failure  for  19  per  cent.  Twelve  per  cent,  indicated 
that  nights  are  longer  in  summer  than  in  winter. 

3.     "Then,  if  Christmas  comes  in  March,  make  a  cross 

right  here but  if  not,  pass  along  to  the  next  question,  and 

tell  where  the  sun  rises (4)."    Twelve  per  cent,  made  a 

cross  in  the  first  blank  and  also  wrote  in  the  second  blank  one 
or  the  other  of  these  phrases:  "in  the  sky,"  "in  the  morn- 
ing/' "in  the  north,"  "south,"  or  "west" ;  six  per  cent,  omitted 
to  answer  either  part  of  direction,  while  16  per  cent.,  re- 
cognizing the  idea  of  choice  to  be  made,  received  half-credit. 

7.     "Write  YES,  no  matter  whether  China  is  in  Africa 

or  not "    Sixteen  per  cent,  wrote  No,  while  3  per  cent. 

failed  to  write  anything  at  all. 

5  and  6.  "If  you  believe  that  Edison  discovered  America, 
cross  out  what  you  just  wrote  (5),  but  if  it  was  some  one 
else,  put  in  a  number  to  complete  this  sentence:  "A  horse 
has  . . .  .feet."  (6).  No  one  crossed  off  what  she  had  just 
written,  but  five  per  cent,  did  cross  off  the  word  "Edison," 
and  in  its  stead  wrote  "Columbus."  There  were  several  in- 
terpolations of  a  number  between  the  semicolon  and  the 
sentence,  "A  horse  etc."  The  horse  was  given  but  two  feet 
in  5  per  cent,  of  the  cases;  however,  there  were  only  two 
omissions  and  hence  90  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  reacted 
correctly  to  both  5  and  6. 

9.  Write  any  letter  except  g  after  this  comma."  This 
seems  a  very  simple  and  straight-forward  direction  yet  there 
were  6  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  who  proceeded  to  write  g 
in  spite  of  the  injunction  to  do  otherwise.  Four  per  cent, 
wrote  nothing. 

2.  "Put  a  comma  after  the  longest  of  these  three  words: 
boy  mother  girl."  There  were  types  of  failure:  a  comma 
was  placed  above  the  longest  word,  or  after  each  one  of  the 
words,  or  after  the  word  "girl,"  or  nothing  at  all  was  done. 
The  total  number  of  failures  amounted  to  9  per  cent. 

1.  "With  your  pencil  make  a  dot  over  any  one  of  these 
letters:  F  G  H  I  J."  This  direction,  proved  the  easiest  to 
interpret,  met  with  failure  in  8  per  cent,  of  the  cases.  Dots 
were  placed  over  each  one  of  the  letters,  while  one  girl  dotted 
most  of  the  given  letters  as  they  appeared  in  the  text.  There 
were  no  omissions. 

The  average  score  in  this  test  was  77  per  cent. ;  the  A.  D. 
was  9.41;  the  S.  D.  was  11.32;  the  median  score  was  80  per 
cent.;  the  scores  ranged  from  100  per  cent,  to  45  per  cent. 

The  average  time  score  was  262.12  seconds;  the  A.  D. 
in  time  was  48.  58  seconds;  the  S.  D.  in  time  was  53.49"; 


42     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

there  was  a  time  range  of  70  seconds  to  719.5  seconds. 

Woodworth  and  Wells  quote  107  seconds  as  the  average 
time  for  their  group  of  college  students.  We  can  report 
but  three  subjects  with  as  good  a  time  score  as  this  average 
made  by  the  students,  and  Dr.  Weidensall  had  only  two  sub- 
jects among  the  Subjects  examined  who  require  as  short 
a  time.  Of  the  Reformatory  women  all  but  one  were 
slower  than  134  seconds  which  was  the  poorest  time-score  of 
the  college  students.  (31).  The  average  time  for  a  group 
of  sixty  normal  students  at  the  Chicago  Normal  College  is 
118.8  seconds  (31)  which  is  slower  than  the  Woodworth  and 
Wells  subjects,  but  a  better  time-record  than  was  made  by  the 
majority  of  our  subjects,  since  only  the  three  mentioned  above 
performed  the  test  in  as  short  a  time.  The  index  between 
time  and  accuracy  derived  from  this  test  shows  that  the  high- 
est score  was  not  obtained  in  the  shortest  time,  nor  on  the 
other  hand  was  the  slowest  person  the  most  accurate.  The 
relation  between  time  and  accuracy  is  discussed  under  a  sepa- 
rate heading. 

The  Bedford  Reformatory  Group  performed  the  test  in 
274.85  seconds,  average  time  for  the  group,  which  is  12.63 
seconds  slower  than  the  average  time  required  by  the  Factory 
Girls.  (31). 


LINGUISTIC  TESTS. 
A.     The  Trabue  Completion  Teat. 

The  Trabue  Completion  Test  beginning  "The  sky 

blue."  appeared  to  be  an  interesting  form  of  amusement  to 
most  of  the  subjects,  for  they  went  smilingly  through  the  test, 
making  errors  often  but  generally  writing  something  in  the 
blank  spaces. 

Since  the  English  spoken  by  the  majority  of  the  Factory 
workers  contains  much  incorrect  phraseology,  it  seemed  wise 
to  overlook  minor  details  in  the  results,  and  count  as  errors 
only  impossible  and  meaningless  interpolations.  It  was  com- 
mon to  find  the  plural  subject  of  a  sentence  completed  by  a 
verb  in  the  singular,  and  vice  versa.  A  logical  connection  of 
ideas  rather  than  grammatical  rectitude  seems  a  fairer  crite- 
rion than  to  lay  undue  stress  upon  linguistic  construction. 
This  group  made  some  interpolations  that  are  unique,  and  as 
they  are  not  noted  by  other  investigators,  Dr.  Trabue  was 
consulted  in  regard  to  their  proper  valuation.  In  general, 
however,  the  prescribed  method  was  utilized.  A  system  of 
half-credits  was  found  necessary. 

The  sentences  vary  so  much  in  point  of  difficulty  that 
they  must  be  discussed  individually. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     43 


1.  The  sky.  M^.  .  blue. 

No  one  failed  to  interpolate  a  word  that  made  sense  and 
"looks",  "was"  and  "is"  were  used  with  about  equal  frequency. 

2.  We  are  going  £\  .  school. 

The  only  errors  in  this  sentence  were  the  insertion  of 
"home"  and  "play"  by  3  per  cent,  of  the  subjects. 

6.     The.^.  .is  barking  at  the  cat. 

Every  one  had  this  correct. 

8.     The  stars  and  the.  tWW&wil]  shine  to-night. 

Four  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  inserted  the  word  "sun" 
21  per  cent,  supplied  the  word  "stripes",  while  "moon"  was 
written  by  the  remaining  75  per  cent,  of  the  subjects. 

10.     The  .  /P^fi  .  sings  a  song  every  morning. 

The  only  error  here  was  the  use  of  the  word  "will". 

12.     Good  boys.  4-^-.  .kind  to  their  sisters. 

Here  one  finds  "be",  "run  errands",  "and  so  are"  inserted 
instead  of  the  very  obvious  "are"  which  was  given  correctly 
in  95  per  cent,  of  the  cases. 

14.     When  the.  ^r.  grows  older  he./^T.be  a  man. 

Four  per  cent,  inserted  a  proper  name  in  the  first  blank 
over  looking  the  significance  of  the  definite  article  "the,"  other- 
wise there  were  grammatical  errors  only  in  this  and  the  two 
succeeding  sentences. 

16.     The  boy  will  ......  his  hand  if  ......  plays  with  fire. 

The  word  "wash"  was  used  in  8  per  cent,  of  the  cases. 

18.     The  best  ........  to  sleep  is  at  night. 

This  was  correct  in  78  per  cent,  of  the  reactions,  the 
remaining  22  per  cent,  inserted  the  word  "thing",  or  "cure", 
"his",  "is",  "to  go",  "place",  "way",  or  "hour",  showing  an 
inability  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  sentence. 

20.     The  little  ......  and  his  dog  ......  running  a  race. 

The  only  errors  in  this  sentence  were  those  in  which  a 
plural  subject  was  followed  by  a  singular  verb  and  vice  versa. 

22.     Time  ......  often  more  valuable  ......  than  money. 

Fifty-two  per  cent,  had  these  two  insertions  right;  the 
rest  of  the  subjects  wrote  one  or  the  other  of  these  words 
"Work,"  "Come,"  "Has,"  or  "Are"  in  the  first  space  and  "in"  or 
"to"  in  the  second  space  quite  as  often  as  Than., 

24.     The  ......  rises  in  the  morning  and  ......  night. 

The  words  "Boy",  "Girl"  or  "Bird"  were  supplied  by  40 
per  cent,  of  the  subjects  "rising"  in  the  morning  and  "sleeping" 
at  night.  The  majority,  however,  wrote  "Sun"  correctly, 
while  50  per  cent,  inserted  "sets".  The  remaining  50  per  cent. 
wrote  "lowers"  or  "moon"  in  the  second  blank. 

26.     Boys  who  play  ......  mud  get  their  hands  ...... 

These  blanks  were  filled  in  correctly  by  50  per  cent,  of 
the  girls.  There  were  various  insertions  descriptive  of  "mud", 
such  as  "nasty,"  "street,"  "black,"  "much,"  "bad,"  "soiled" 


44     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

and  "yard".     In  the  second  blank  "bad",  "full"  and  "soiled" 
were  chosen  in  about  equal  proportions. 

28.     The  little. . .  .had. . .  .nothing  to. . . .  ;  he  is  hungry. 

But  6  per  cent,  failed  to  recognize  the  significance  of  the 
pronoun  "he"  and  wrote  "girl"  or  "creatures"  in  the  first 
blank. 
30.     The  boy  who hard do  well. 

This  sentence  was  confusing  to  70  per  cent,  of  the  subjects 
who  inserted  "have",  "is",  "tries",  "has",,  "studies",  "eats" 
or  "thinks"  in  the  first  blank,  and  "always"  "work"  or  "does" 
in  the  second. 

32.     One's do always   express   his   thoughts. 

Eleven  per  cent,  wrote  the  word  "who"  in  the  first  space 
and  fifteen  per  cent,  the  word  "mind".  Seventy-one  per  cent, 
supplied  meaningful  words,  but  the  remaining  18  per  cent 
inserted  either  "ideas,"  "opinion,"  "self,"  "actions,"  "speech" 
or  face,"  "Not"  was  written  invariably  in  the  second  blank 
space. 

34.     It  is  a task  to  be  kind  to  every  beggar 

for  money. 

Words  that  made  sense  were  inserted  by  33  per  cent., 
while  50  per  cent,  wrote  words  that  could  be  given  half -credit. 
The  remainder  left  the  spaces  blank. 

36.     Worry never  improved  a  situation  but  has 

made  conditions. 

Thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  completed  this  sen- 
tence correctly;  twenty-five  per  cent,  received  half-credit  and 
the  remaining  thirty-seven  per  cent,  failed  to  insert  any  words 
that  could  be  accepted ;  ten  per  cent,  made  no  attempt  to  sup- 
ply any  words. 

The  average  score  was  80.33  per  cent;  the  Median  Score 
was  84  per  cent.  The  scores  ranged  from  100  per  cent,  to  34.8 
per  cent.  The  A.  D.  in  score  was  13.76  per  cent.  The  S.  D. 
was  24.62  per  cent. 

The  average  reaction  time  was  464.5  seconds ;  the  median 
time  rate  was  340.5  seconds ;  the  time  scores  ranged  from  293 
seconds  to  787  seconds. 

LINGUISTIC  TESTS— ENGLISH-AFRICAN  PROVERB 

TEST. 

No  published  data  of  this  test  arranged  by  Dr.  Ruger  of 
Columbia  University  has  appeared.  Prof.  Thorndike  included 
the  test  in  a  set  given  at  Teachers'  College,  but  no  detailed 
report  of  the  results  of  the  test  are  noted.  (55). 

The  Experimenter  beside  presenting  it  to  this  group  of 
Factory  girls,  gave  the  test  to  a  group  of  persons  employed  at 
the  Willard  Parker  Hospital.  The  reactions  of  these  two 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     45 

groups  may  well  be  compared. 

The  directions  were  read  to  the  subjects,  and  each  one 
was  asked  in  turn  if  she  understood  what  was  to  be  done.  If 
she  did  not  comprehend  the  problem,  she  was  asked  to  read 
aloud  the  first  of  the  English  Proverbs,  and  then  find  among 
the  African  Proverbs  the  one  that  seemed  to  mean  most  nearly 
the  same  thing.  Stimulated  by  a  suggestion  as  to  a  method  of 
procedure,  the  subjects  invariably  did  something  with  the  test. 
The  Factory  subjects  were  asked  after  they  had  read  over 
the  test  if  there  were  any  words  which  were  unfamiliar. 
Six  girls  announced  that  they  did  not  know  "enchantment," 
and  "Leisure"  and  "Folly"  were  new  words  to  three  girls. 
It  is  possible  that  other  persons  failed  also  to  grasp  the 
meaning  of  all  the  words  but  were  too  shy  to  admit  their 
ignorance.  It  is  obvious  from  an  inspection  of  the  ac- 
companying table  that  some  of  the  confusion's  occurred 
through  a  lack  of  comprehension  of  the  phraseology. 

Results  of  the  Test  administered  to  the  Factory  Girls  are 
as  follows: 

5       per  cent,  had  a  perfect  score. 
5       per  cent,  had  eleven  of  the  analogies  right. 
1       per  cent,  had  ten  of  the  analogies  correct. 
3.33  per  cent,  had  nine  of  the  analogies  correct. 
1       per  cent,  had  eight  of  the  analogies  correct. 
5       per  cent,  had  seven  of  the  analogies  correct. 
8.33  per  cent,  had  six  of  the  analogies  correct. 
31       per  cent,  had  five  of  the  analogies  correct. 
8       per  cent,  had  four  of  the  analogies  correct. 
21       per  cent,  had  three  of  the  analogies  correct. 
10       per  cent,  had  two  of  the  analogies  correct. 
15       per  cent,  had  one  of  the  analogies  correct. 
5       per  cent,  had  none  of  the  analogies  correct. 
Each  pair  may  now  be  discussed  in  the  order  in  which 
the  English  Proverbs  occur  in  the  text. 

A.  Married  in  haste  we  repent  at  leisure. 

11.  Quick  loving  a  woman  means  quick  not  loving  a 
woman. 

These  two  seemed  by  far  the  easiest  proverbs  to  analyze 
and  87  per  cent,  paired  them  correctly ;  only  6  per  cent,  omitted 
A  entirely,  3  per  cent,  paired  11  with  "First  catch  your  hare" 
(G),  and  3  per  cent,  paired  11  with  "Distance  lends  enchant- 
ment to  the  view"  (K) .  There  is  a  semblance  of  humor  in  the 
latter  combination,  unless  one  chooses  to  ascribe  it  to  chance ! 
Every  one  had  heard  the  English  version  of  the  proverb  and 
the  expression  offered  no  complication  to  most  of  the  subjects. 
Except  to  the  very  stupid,  the  African  interpretation  of  a 
hasty  marriage  was  perfectly  obvious. 

B.  Answer  a  fool  according  to  his  folly. 


46     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

6.  If  the  boy  says  he  wants  to  tie  the  water  with  a 
string,  ask  him  whether  he  means  the  water  in  the 
pot  or  the  water  in  the  lagoon. 

This  analogy  was  given  by  34  per  cent,  of  the  subjects. 
Number  6  was  paired  with  "Distance  lends"  etc.  (K)  by  9 
per  cent ;  and  was  coupled  as  well  with  A.,  C.,  G.,  H.  and  J., 
respectively,  by  8  per  cent,  of  the  subjects;  while  3  per  cent, 
paired  No.  6  with  L.  and  3  per  cent,  with  M.,  and  4  per  cent, 
coupled  it  with  D. — "Out  of  the  frying  pan"  etc.  Practically 
one  half  of  the  subjects  failed  to  make  any  combination  with 
No.  6  and  8  per  cent,  made  no  attempt  to  dispose  of  B. 

C.  One  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer. 
1.     One  tree  does  not  make  a  forest. 

Fifty-one  per  cent,  had  these  two  paired  correctly.  Twice 
No.  1  was  combined  with  "Birds  of  a  feather  etc.",  because 
as  these  subjects  explained,  both  proverbs  contain  the  word 
"Bird."  Eighteen  per  cent,  failed  to  pair  C.  with  any  other 
proverb,  and  twenty  per  cent,  failed  to  find  an  analogy  for 
Number  1. 

D.  Out  of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire. 

8.  He  runs  away  from  the  sword  and  hides  himself  in 
the  scabbard. 

Only  twenty-three  per  cent,  had  this  correspondence 
correct.  Fourteen  per  cent,  combined  E.  and  8.  Six  per 
cent,  thought  J.  and  8  analogous.  Three  per  cent,  paired  8 
with  L,  and  three  per  cent,  paired  it  with  M.  and  three  per 
cent,  with  K.  Twenty-one  per  cent,  failed  to  make  any  com- 
bination for  D.,  and  twenty-nine  per  cent,  omitted  No.  8. 

E.  Robbing  Peter  to  pay  Paul. 

13.  No  one  should  draw  water  from  the  spring  in  order 
to  supply  the  river. 

These  two  proverbs  were  arranged  correctly  by  twenty- 
eight  per  cent,  of  the  subjects.  Ten  per  cent,  paired  M.  with 
13 ;  and  several  paired  it  quite  at  random,  apparently.  J.  was 
combined  with  13  by  6  per  cent,  of  the  subjects,  and  D  was 
combined  with  13  by  four  per  cent.  Twenty-five  per  cent, 
omitted  E.  entirely,  and  thirty-one  per  cent,  did  nothing 
with  13. 

F.  Birds  of  a  feather  flock  together. 

9.  A  fool  of  Ika  and  an  idiot  of  Lluka  meet  together  to 
make  friends. 

Thirty-one  per  cent,  had  this  analogy  correct.  Twenty- 
three  per  cent,  paired  9  with  B.,  "Because,"  said  they,  "both 
contain  the  word  *f ooF ;  six  per  cent,  paired  9  with  L,  arguing 
that  for  a  fool  and  an  idiot  to  meet  is  "adding  insult  to  injury." 
Three  per  cent,  joined  9  with  A.,  "For,"  said  these  subjects, 
"persons  marrying  in  haste"  are  a  fool  and  an  idiot  meeting. 
Number  9  was  combined  with  E.  an  equal  number  of  times  as 
"left  over"  propositions  that  could  not  be  disposed  of  other- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     47 

wise.  Fifteen  per  cent,  failed  to  pair  F.  and  seventy  per  cent, 
omitted  Number  9. 

G.     First  catch  your  hare. 

2.  I  nearly  killed  the  bird.    No  one  can  eat  nearly  in  a 

stew. 

This  pair  of  proverbs  proved  more  difficult  to  analyze 
than  did  any  of  the  others.  Number  2  was  paired  at  least  once 
with  every  other  proverb,  and  with  F.  in  seven  per  cent,  of 
the  cases.  Both  F.  and  E.  contain  the  word  "Bird"  which 
was  given  as  the  justification  for  this  arrangement.  One 
person  insisted  that  "No  one  can  eat  nearly  in  a  stew"  means 
that  no  one  can  eat  when  nearly  in  a  fret  or  hurry — i.  e.  in  a 
stew.  Eighteen  per  cent,  made  the  right  combinations.  Forty- 
two  per  cent,  did  not  pair  G.  at  all,  and  twenty-  six  per  cent, 
left  out  Number  2. 

H.     Sour  grapes. 

7.      Cocoanut  is  not  good  for  bird  to  eat. 

This  pair  appeared  as  difficult  to  analyze  as  the  previous 
one  inasmuch  as  the  same  percentage,  (thirty-one) ,  arranged 
this  and  the  former  pair  correctly,  although  the  combinations 
made  were  not  as  varied  as  in  the  C.  and  number  2  Proverbs. 
"Sour  grapes"  proved  a  fairly  familiar  saying,  but  "Cocoanut" 
suggested  the  idea  of  food,  "Milk  for  babes"  (L)  to  twenty- 
one  per  cent,  of  the  subjects,  and  to  six  per  cent,  the  word 
"Bird"  made  the  combination  of  Number  7  with  F.  seem  the 
logical  one.  Six  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  coupled  Number  7 
with  E.,  G.  and  J.  respectively.  Eighteen  per  cent,  made  no 
disposal  of  H.  and  thirty-one  per  cent,  none  of  Number  7. 

1.      Adding  insult  to  injury. 

10.  The  ground  pig  said :  I  do  not  feel  so  angry  with  the 
man  who  killed  me  as  with  the  man  who  threw  me 
to  the  ground  afterwards. 

Twenty-one  per  cent,  found  this  analogy.  Twelve  per 
cent,  paired  Number  10  with  J.,  and  seven  per  cent,  paired  it 
with  M.,  and  seven  per  cent,  with  G.  The  last  two  proverbs 
refer  to  animals,  the  subjects  who  made  these  combinations 
remarked,  so  why  not  put  them  in  pairs!  Six  per  cent, 
coupled  Number  10  with  D.,  and  three  per  cent,  with  B.,  and  H. 
Fourteen  per  cent,  failed  to  dispose  of  I.  in  any  fashion  and 
fifteen  per  cent,  did  nothing  with  Number  10. 

J.      Curses  come  home  to  roost. 

3.  Ashes  fly  in  the  face  of  him  who  throws  them. 
Only  twelve  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  combined  these 

two.  Fifteen  per  cent,  paired  Number  5  with  D.,  because  the 
word  "ashes"  suggested  "fire"  and  there  was  none  other  that 
seemed  to  "fit  as  well."  Each  one  of  the  English  Proverbs 
was  paired  with  Number  5  at  least  once,  and,  as  one  girl  ex< 
pressed  it,  "I  put  down  all  I  was  sure  were  right,  and  the  rest 
I  just  settled  any  way  at  all!  This  method  of  elimination  was 


48     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

quite  the  usual  one.    Thirty-seven  per  cent,  left  J.  a  blank  and 
thirty-one  per  cent,  omitted  Number  5. 

K.     Distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view. 

4.      Distance  firewood  is  good  firewood. 

Upon  the  supposition,  perhaps,  that  proverbs  containing 
the  same  word,  or  one  of  its  derivatives,  should  be  paired, 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  subjects  combined  these  two  im- 
mediately. Fourteen  per  cent,  followed  a  similar  line  of 
reasoning,  allied  Number  4  with  D.,  since  "both  have  to  do 
with  fire."  An  equal  number  of  persons  thought  Number  4 
and  F.  were  analogous,  while  in  three  per  cent,  of  the  cases 
Number  4  was  paired  with  B.,  C.,  H.,  and  M.  Thirty-four 
per  cent,  omitted  K  entirely,  and  fifteen  per  cent,  failed  to 
pair  Number  4. 

L.      Milk  for  babes. 

12.     If  the  stomach  is  not  strong  do  not  eat  cockroaches. 

These  two  proverbs  are  too  abstruse,  apparently,  for 
this  group  since  but  ten  per  cent,  grasped  the  analogous  mean- 
ings. "Milk  for  babes"  was  paired  with  Number  3.  in  twenty- 
six  per  cent,  of  the  cases,  an  association  of  ideas  that  can  be 
understood.  Twelve  per  cent,  made  no  disposal  of  L.,  and 
thirty-six  per  cent,  none  of  Number  12.  Twelve  per  cent, 
combined  Number  12  with  H.,  while  six  per  cent.,  recalling 
the  pangs  of  indigestion,  paired  Number  12  with  "Curses 
come  home  to  roost"  (J.),  or  as  one  girl  expressed  it,  "If  you 
eat  what  does  not  agree  with  you,  you  always  have  to  pay!" 
Six  per  cent,  reasoned  that  giving  the  "stomach  cockroaches 
to  eat"  was  analogous  to  "adding  insult  to  injury"  (I). 
There  were  other  combinations  that  the  introspections  showed 
were  studied,  but  the  majority  were  chance  associations  only. 

M.     We  can  all  endure  the  misfortunes  of  others. 

3.      Full-belly  child   says  to  hungry-belly  child,   "Keep 
good  cheer." 

Eighteen  per  cent,  paired  these  two  proverbs,  but  twenty- 
six  per  cent,  combined  Number  3.  with  L.,  and  M.  was  coupled 
with  every  other  proverb  in  the  African  Group,  except  Num- 
bers 1  and  11,  at  least  twice.  Twenty  per  cent,  failed  to  make 
any  combination  at  all  with  M.,  and  twenty-two  per  cent, 
failed  to  connect  Number  3  with  any  other  proverb. 

Arranged  in  the  order  of  difficulty,  beginning  with  the 
proverb  that  was  compared  correctly  most  often,  the  English 
Proverbs  appear  thus:— A.,  C.,;  B.,  H.  and  F.;  L,  K.,  and  D.; 
G.  and  M.;  J.  and  L. 

The  table  given  below  reveals  in  a  graphic  manner  the 
number  of  correct  analogies  and  the  omissions  that  were  made, 
as  well  as  the  confusions  and  errors  that  occurred.  These 
have  been  noted,  but  the  tabulation  gives  a  better  idea  of 
comparative  difficulties  in  analysis  than  can  be  derived  from  a 
purely  verbal  elucidation.  The  zig-zag  line  through  the  center 


II 


A 
40 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    49 

designates  the  correct  pairing  of  the  proverbs.  In  the  vertical 
column  to  the  right,  the  number  of  times  each  of  the  English 
Proverb  was  omitted  is  given,  and,  at  the  bottom  of  the  table, 
is  to  be  found  the  number  of  times  each  of  the  African 
Proverbs  was  omitted. 


If      il      te     f|     d 


60     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

It  was  noted  that  the  first  six  persons  who  tried  the  test 
completed  it  in  less  than  13  minutes,  the  next  six  persons 
made  neither  addition  nor  correction  after  a  period  of  thirteen 
minutes  had  elapsed  so  a  time-limit  of  thirteen  minutes  was 
set.  In  the  experiment  conducted  under  the  direction  of 
Prof.  E.  L.  Thorndike  (55)  an  allowance  of  twenty  minutes 
was  made  for  this  test  in  order  that  the  measurement  might 
be  wholly  of  the  quality  of  the  work  done  irrespective  of  the 
time  element.  The  Factory  situation  did  not  warrant  the  de- 
votion of  so  much  time  to  this  one  test.  The  Experimenter 
feels  confident  that  the  test-results  would  be  practically  the 
same  had  more  time  been  allowed  the  factory  girls.  No  time 
limit  was  fixed  for  the  Hospital  Group  and  their  time  ranged 
from  900  seconds  to  185  seconds,  with  an  average  time  record 
of  543.14  seconds;  the  A.  D.  was  153.39  seconds. 

The  time  consumed  in  the  execution  of  the  test  by  the 
Factory  Girls  ranged  from  780  seconds  to  312  seconds.  The 
average  time  for  the  test  was  581.149  seconds;  the  A.,  D.  was 
153.39  seconds. 

The  test  was  scored  on  the  basis  of  100  per  cent,  perfect, 
or  an  allowance  of  7.7  per  cent,  each  correct  answer. 

The  average  score  for  the  Factory  Group  was  29.5  per 
cent.;  the  A.  D.  was  6.45. 

The  average  score  for  the  Hospital  Group  was  72.94  per 
cent.;  A.  D.  18.93;  the  S.  D.  26.54. 

VI.  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  SPECIAL  TESTS. 
1.  Judgment  Test. 

The  Foreman  in  the  Selecting  Department  had  observed 
considerable  variation  in  the  ability  of  the  girls  under  his 
direction  and  wished  to  determine  how  they  compared  in 
efficiency  as  measured  by  a  series  of  special  tests,  and  whether 
any  other  girls  possessed  aptitude  for  the  work.  In  will  be 
recalled  that  girls  in  the  Selecting  Department  are  obliged  to 
sort  feathers  according  to  their  length  and  width,  regardless 
of  their  quality.  This  is  the  most  important  work  done  in  the 
department,  since  an  error  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  dimensions  of  a  feather  means  quite  a  loss 
of  money  to  the  firm,  hence  to  assist  the  inexperienced  worker 
there  is  a  foot-rule  scale  on  each  girl's  table.  She  is  expected 
to  lay  the  feather  on  the  scale  if  she  cannot  make  an  in- 
dependent decision.  The  more  exact  and  expeditious  the 
sorter  becomes  the  greater  is  her  individual  value  to  the  firm, 
and  the  truly  efficient  sorter  forgets  that  the  scale  exists. 
Now,  although  practice  in  this  type  of  work  is  of  the  utmost 
importance,  the  aptitude  for  making  quick  decisions  varies 
with  the  subject. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     61 

In  order  to  determine  the  degree  of  variation  in  forming 
such  judgments  as  are  demanded  in  this  department,  the 
following  test  was  arranged. 

Twenty  strips  of  fairly  heavy  card-board  cut  to  ap- 
proximate the  sizes  of  the  feathers  examined  during  the 
ordinary  routine  of  the  day  were  prepared.  (See  measure- 
ments given  in  the  Appendix.)  These  strips  were  numbered 
to  correspond  with  the  scale  in  actual  use  in  the  Shipping 
Department,  so  that  they  might  be  readily  identified  by  the 
Examiner  and  checked  up  quickly. 

Each  strip  of  card-board  was  held  at  distance  of 
eighteen  inches  from  the  subject  and  she  was  asked  to  es- 
timate the  length  and  width  of  the  strip,  writing  her  appraise- 
ment on  the  specially  prepared  sheet  that  had  been  supplied 
her  for  this  purpose.  The  strips  were  exposed  for  ten  seconds. 
Although  rapidity  of  decision  counted  in  favor  of  the  person 
examined  it  did  so  only  when  quickness  of  answer  coincided 
with  exactness  of  answer.  At  no  time  was  wrong  answer 
rapidly  arrived  at  counted  as  anything  but  a  failure  against 
the  subject  giving  it. 

In  scoring,  5  per  cent,  credit  was  given  for  each  correct 
judgment,  and  for  every  error  of  half-an-inch  in  an  estimation 
a  deduction  of  one  per  cent,  was  made  from  the  score. 

Sixty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  judgments  of  width  were 
correct  and  fifty-two  per  cent,  of  the  judgments  of  length. 

The  average  error  in  judgment  was  1.53  inches,  with  a 
range  in  error  of  1.88  inches,  or  errors  that  ranged  from  .62 
inches  to  2.5  inches. 

The  average  over-estimation  of  length  was  1.83  inches, 
while  the  average  under-estimation  was  1.09  inches.  The 
range  of  error  in  under-estimating  the  length  of  the  strips 
was  from  .45  inches  to  3.04  inches.  The  average  error  in  over- 
estimating the  length  was  from  .63  inches  to  2.53  inches. 

In  the  matter  of  under-estimating  widths  there  was  an 
average  error  of  .87  inches,  and  in  over-estimating  widths  of 
.869  inches.  The  range  of  error  in  over-estimations  of  width 
was  from  .58  inches  to  1.68  inches.  All  of  which  goes  to  show 
that  there  was  a  somewhat  greater  tendency  to  over-estimate 
than  under-estimate  the  dimensions. 

Ritter  (56)  reports  in  an  experimental  study  that  there 
is  a  definite  inclination  to  over-estimate  vertical  distances  and 
under-estimate  horizontal  distances.  This  may  be  due  to  the 
increased  effort  required  in  moving  the  eyes  up  and  down 
instead  of  in  the  more  accustomed  left  to  right  movements 
used  in  reading.  The  differences  in  judging  the  length  and 
width  of  the  feathers  made  by  these  girls  are  indicated  in  this 
table: 


52     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 


Over-Est.  Under-Est.  Over-Est.  Under-Est. 

of  length  of  length  of  width  of  width 

Average 1.876  in.  1.09  in.  .869  in.  .777  in. 

A.  M.  D 611  in.  .534  in.  .188  in.  .428  in. 

The  time  required  for  the  entire  test  averaged  five 
minutes  and  three  seconds.  The  quickest  person  made  her 
decisions  in  three  minutes  and  three  seconds  and  the  slowest  in 
seven  minutes  and  twenty  seconds. 

The  index  between  time  and  score  was  higher  in  this  than 
in  the  purely  intellectual  tests,  showing  a  correlation  of  .63 
(positive),  with  a  Probable  Error  of  plus  or  minus  .059. 

It  is  possible  as  a  result  of  the  analysis  of  the  records 
made  in  this  and  the  two  following  tests  to  discriminate  with 
much  exactitude  regarding  the  output  of  the  individual  worker. 

As  has  been  observed,  the  ability  to  form  quick  and 
accurate  judgments  iji  the  matter  of  color,  form  and  quality 
is  a  most  valuable  asset  in  a  factory  employee.  The  table 
showing  the  individual  correlations  of  the  girls  and  their 
rating  by  the  Firm  illustrates  the  practical  application  of  this 
particular  group  of  tests. 

It  was  observed  that  those  persons  who  hesitated  over 
their  decisions  were  the  ones  who  made  the  greatest  number 
of  errors;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  passed  judgments 
with  scarcely  a  glance  made  more  errors  than  the  subject  in 
the  Median  Time  Group  who  are  neither  slow,  nor  yet  too 
hasty. 

There  are  a  preponderating  number  of  over-estimations 
of  both  length  and  width,  showing  what  might  be  interpreted 
as  a  tendency  toward  exaggeration.  The  Manager,  noting 
this  tendency  when  inspecting  the  results,  stated  that  he 
wished  there  were  tests  to  reveal  the  presence  of  this  trait, 
for  among  the  "outside  men"  employed  by  the  Firm  unneces- 
sary difficult  arose  because  either  they  over-estimated  the 
promptness  with  which  orders  could  be  executed,  or  else  they 
exaggerated  the  quality  and  character  of  the  goods. 

II.  Sorting  Test. 

A  hundred  strips  of  fairly  heavy  card-board  were  cut 
to  correspond  with  twenty  of  the  most  frequently  used 
feathers  such  as  were  described  in  the  previous  test.  There 
were,  therefore,  five  strips  of  each  size.  These  strips  were 
laid  on  the  table  in  front  of  the  subject  in  a  heterogeneous 
mass  just  as  the  feathers  are  received  from  the  stock-room. 
Each  girl  was  directed  to  sort  the  strips  according  to  size, 
treating  them  as  though  they  were  feathers  and  laying  those 
of  like  dimensions  in  the  same  pile.  They  were  told  to  work 
as  quickly  and  carefully  as  possible. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     53 

This  test  requires  the  exercise  of  the  same  sort  of  judg- 
ment, concentration  and  motivation  that  is  involved  in  the 
performance  of  such  a  piece  of  factory  activity  as  this: 
suppose  that  an  order  for  a  hundred  feather  fans  has  been 
received,  and  several  thousand  feathers  are  sent  down  from 
the  stock-room  each  sorter  is  given  a  share  and  instructed 
to  lay  feathers  of  the  same  dimensions  in  a  pile,  the  work 
must  be  done  expeditiously,  and  it  is  important  that  the 
matching  of  the  feathers  be  perfect,  inasmuch  as  the  finished 
product  depends  on  the  symmentry  of  the  feathers  selected, 
it  is  important  that  the  sorter  possess  excellent  discrimination 
and  the  capacity  to  make  swift  decisions.  That  this  test 
shows  individual  variations  in  ability  to  perform  work  of  this 
order  was  proved  conclusively  by  the  correlations  obtained. 

The  average  time  for  the  test  was  255.33  seconds,  with 
an  average  deviation  of  80.63  seconds.  There  was  a  range  in 
time  of  from  70  seconds  to  360  seconds. 

The  sorting  was  on  the  basis  of  100  per  cent,  for  five 
neat  piles  of  cards  of  similar  sizes,  irrespective  of  the  time 
consumed  in  the  sorting  process. 

No.  one  made  less  than  five  piles,  but  35  per  cent,  made 
more  than  five.  A  system  of  penalties  for  extra  piles  was 
used,  and  each  person  making  more  than  five  piles  had  an 
additional  five  seconds  for  each  extra  pile  added  to  her  time- 
score. 

The  girls  were  arranged  in  order  of  merit  on  the  basis 
of  their  standing  on  the  Time-record. 

The  moderate  workers  did  the  best  sorting,  the  swiftest 
made  errors  and  their  piles  were  untidy  and  slip-shod;  the 
very  deliberate,  slow,  painstaking  workers  saw  differences 
where  none  existed. 

III.  Card  Sorting. 

A  simpler  test,  that  of  arranging  two  packs  of  ordinary 
playing  cards  in  suits  was  given  to  each  one  of  the  factory 
group. 

Skill  in  this  test  depends  much  on  practice  but  such 
psychological  facts  as  neatness,  system,  or  the  reverse,  may  be 
noted,  and  the  observations  of  this  character  made  by  the 
Experimenter  in  individual  cases  aroused  the  approval  of  the 
Foremen. 

The  clumsy  girl  let  her  cards  fall  frequently,  or  fumbled 
them.  A  lack  of  decision  and  keen  perception  caused  loss  of 
time  and  most  of  the  errors.  The  sorting  of  cards  is  a  simple 
eye-hand  co-ordination  exercise  very  like  the  work  performed 
by  the  girls  in  the  Selecting  Department.  The  amount  of 
discrimination  necessary  is  reduced  almost  to  a  minimum, 
and  in  this  regard  it  is  more  like  the  sorting  of  the  Raw 


54     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Feathers  than  it  is  like  the  sorting  of  the  finished  products, 
the  dyed  and  curled  feathers. 

The  time  ranged  from  55  seconds  to  181  seconds.  The 
errors  ranged  from  ten  to  one.  By  applying  the  Method 
of  Penalties  (46)  described  by  Dr.  Munsterberg  fourteen 
seconds  was  added  to  each  score  expressed  in  seconds  for 
every  single  error  made.  Upon  the  basis  of  the  time-scores, 
the  subjects  were  arranged  in  rank  order  of  merit.  The 
test  was  then  correlated  with  the  Criterion  and  the  other 
tests.  .  . 

This  test  helps  to  differentiate  between  the  quick,  neat, 
careful  and  resolute  worker  and  the  person  who  is  vacillating, 
slip-shod  and  slow.  It  is  distinctly  an  index  of  manual  dex- 
terity. The  relation  between  Time  and  Score  in  this  test 
shows  an  unusually  high  index,  .75  P.  E.  .0397. 

If  an  individual  girl  is  being  tested  in  order  to  determine 
into  which  of  the  Departments  of  the  Factory  she  will  fit  best, 
this  test  is  most  illuminating.  It  throws  light  upon  the 
girl's  temperament  and  her  type  of  performance  reveals 
whether  she  will  do  good  work  as  a  Select  or  be  better 
employed  in  some  other  department  of  the  factory. 

The  median   score  in  this  test  is  represented  by  the 
time  score,  134.46  seconds.    Unless  a  girl  performs  the  test 
within  this  time  limit,  she  will  not  excell  as  a  selector. 
IV.    Discrimination  of  Color  Test. 

The  ostrich  feathers  are  received  in  their  natural  con- 
dition, and  the  work  of  dyeing,  curling  and  dressing  is  all 
done,  at  the  factory. 

After  the  first  sorting  of  the  raw  material,  the  feathers 
are  sent  to  the  Dyeing  Department  where  they  are  colored 
and  then  steamed.  When  these  processes  are  finished,  the 
feathers  are  again  sorted  and  arranged  so  that  they  may  be 
fashioned  into  the  designs  ordered. 

There  is  sometimes  a  very  slight  difference  in  shade 
that  is  rather  difficult  to  detect.  An  expert  sorter  must  be 
able  to  differentiate  between  the  slightest  variations  in  color 
as  well  as  in  form  and  size. 

In  order  to  test  the  ability  of  the  Selectors  to  do  this,  a 
Discrimination  of  Color  Test  was  devised.  Pieces  of  knitting 
yarn  of  various  colors,  fifteen  inches  long  were  tied  in  small 
bows.  There  were  four  sets  of  ten  shades  each  of  Blue, 
Purple,  Orange  and  Green,  which  were  mixed  with  seventy- 
five  bits  of  yarn  of  other  colors.  Each  set  contained  exactly 
the  same  number  of  pieces  of  yarn,  namely,  eighty-five  small 
bows  of  yarn.  These  were  placed  in  an  envelope  on  the  outside 
of  each  of  which  was  written  either  the  word  ORANGE, 
PURPLE,  BLUE  or  GREEN.  In  the  envelope  bearing  one  or 
the  other  of  these  color-names  all  the  shades  of  the  particular 
color  specified  were  placed. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    65 

The  directions  were  given  orally  thus:  Each  one  of 
you  has  been  given  a  sheet  of  paper.  Write  your  name  on 
the  paper.  You  have  been  given  an  envelope  also  that  con- 
tains bits  of  yarn  of  different  colors.  On  each  envelope  is 
written  the  word  ORANGE,  GREEN,  PURPLE  or  BLUE. 
That  means  that  in  each  one  of  the  envelopes  there  is  a  set  of 
various  shades  of  one  or  the  other  of  these  colors.  Those 
of  you  who  have  an  envelope  marked  "PURPLE"  are  to 
put  all  the  shades  of  purple  in  a  pile  on  the  sheet  of  paper. 
Those  of  you  who  have  an  envelope  marked  "Blue"  all  the 
shades  of  blue,  and  so  on  in  the  same  way  with  the  "Orange" 
and  the  "Green."  Pay  attention  to  no  other  color  than  the 
one  you  are  told  to  select. 

Do  you  all  understand?  When  I  say  "Ready,"  empty 
the  contents  of  the  envelope  on  your  table  and  begin  at  once 
to  sort  your  color.  Remember  to  put  the  yarn  you  select  on 
the  white  paper.  When  I  say  "Stop,"  do  so  at  once.  Sort 
the  colors  as  quickly  and  as  carefully  as  you  can. 

One  minute  was  allowed  and  in  that  time  one  person 
had  sorted  all  the  colors.  The  other  girls  had  selected  from 
42  per  cent,  to  93  per  cent,  of  the  colors. 

Since  it  was  desirable  to  ascertain  those  persons  who 
were  capable  to  making  quick  decisions  coupled  with  a  fair 
degree  of  accuracy,  special  stress  was  placed  upon  the  time- 
element  when  the  directions  were  given. 

After  a  girl  had  sorted  one  set  of  colors  she  was  given 
another  set  until  each  girl  had  had  each  set  of  colors  to  sort. 
This  was  done  to  see  whether  there  was  more  difficulty  in  dis- 
tinguishing between  the  shades  of  one  color  than  another, 
and  whether  there  was  a  gain  in  time  through  practice. 
The  shades  of  purple  seemed  more  easily  and  quickly  selected 
inasmuch  as  85  per  cent,  were  picked  out  an  average  by  the 
group  in  the  allotted  sixty  seconds.  The  other  colors  in  their 
apparent  order  of  difficulty  were  green,  orange  and  blue, 
with  an  average  of  80  per  cent. ;  73  per  cent. ;  and  60  per  cent, 
selected  within  the  time-limit. 

When  the  results  of  the  four  color  sortings  were  averaged 
the  subjects  were  arranged  in  rank  order  according  to  the 
record  made  by  each  individual  in  the  entire  set  of  colors. 

This  ranking  was  then  compared  by  the  rating  given  to 
these  girls  by  the  members  of  the  Firm. 

V.  Motor  Control  Test. 

Most  of  the  work  in  the  factory  is  monotonous.  The 
same  type  of  movement  is  repeated  over  and  over.  The 
ability  to  stick  to  the  task  in  spite  of  its  extreme  monotony, 
and  create  interest  where  none  is  apparent,  is  possessed  by 


56     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

some  persons  but  is  totally  lacking  in  others.  A  girl,  who 
because  of  a  nervous  temperament  is  unable  to  keep  repeating 
the  same  form  of  activity,  cannot  do  good  work  as  a  Bender 
or  Finisher  of  Feathers;  neither  can  she  do  her  best  work 
in  the  Selecting  or  in  the  Boa  Department  for  as  our  Job- 
Analysis  indicated,  practically  all  of  the  workers,  save  those 
who  run  errands  or  are  in  the  Fancy  Department,  must  do 
the  same  thing  over  and  over  again. 

In  order  to  determine  which  of  the  employees  are  best 
suited  for  steady  and  monotonous  labor,  a  new  and  very 
simple  test  was  presented.  On  a  sheet  of  8  x  11  paper,  1088 
oblique  lines  one-quarter  of  an  inch  long,  of  this  character 
I  I  I  I  I  were  arranged  in  29  rows,  thirty-eight  in  a  row. 
The  test  was  described  to  the  subject,  the  sheet  given  to 
her  face  down,  and  she  was  directed  to  make  a  cross  out  of 
each  oblique  line  as  quickly  as  she  could.  This  was  given 
to  small  groups  though  it  may  well  be  used  as  an  individual 
test. 

The  subjects  were  told  that  the  Experimenter  would 
announce  the  thirty-second  periods,  and  they  were  to  check 
at  what-ever  point  they  happened  to  be  working  when  the 
number  was  called.  In  this  way,  comparisons  between  sub- 
jects could  be  calculated,  the  effect  of  practice  noted,  and  the 
individual  differences  in  procedure  observed.  The  length  of 
time  allowed  for  the  test  in  optional  with  the  experimenter. 
Five  periods  of  30  seconds  each,  or  two  minutes  and  a  half 
was  the  allotted  time  for  standardization  in  this  case,  al- 
though certain  subjects  were  permitted  to  finish  the  sheet. 

There  was  not  as  great  a  variation  in  the  amount  of 
work  accomplished  in  two  and  a  half  minutes  as  there  was 
in  the  quality  of  the  work  performed.  (Five  grades  of 
achievement  were  arranged.  See  Page  57. 

The  medians  for  these  subjects  averaged  294.875  strokes. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  sheet  proved  to  be  the 
most  enlightening  and  important  feature  of  the  test. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     57 


Grae?e  T.      The  niosf  excellent  type.    Steady,   even  cross- 
Tines  i«ai>vtal7ied  throughout-.    (?*%>  ani  over)* 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

xxx*xxxxxxxxxxxxx*xxxxxx 

_  S  Jim'  Ur-  to  execution  of  Subjects    1  66j  i  38  ;  M?  Vt 


Grade  II.     SVen  and  Steady   \~n  spots. 

Xx  x  X  )(  X  x  x  x^y-xxxxx*  XX.XAXXX 
A  X  MXxx\XXXX\\x*XXx 


Orsd*  Til.     W«r*  vartati  ll-ty  than  Ora4*  TI 

XXX  A  X  Afc  X  X  AX?!  X  A  AXX.  XAX.XX  V\ 


ecitt»oY»  HZ;   I75/  /o;    107;    127. 


(Jvade  X*.  Stilt  grcat«V  degr«*  »f  V»rlaJ.l}lty. 

A/-X  x  A>X/  >  >y-y^y-x  j^y  x  xxyj(  A 
^x  A  A/t  XA\\\  v\xxxxxxxxxx  xxx 


X  A 

Sl»lUr  4o  executloji  of  158;   157  .• 

V.      The  poorest  «>reoattox.    LBeiow  3Oj8)  . 


X  ^  Jr  V  V 
"X  X  X  /T^X"^  XX  X 

tKe  reeoris  of  H9j   143;    151 


58     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

The  papers  were  graded  by  three  judges,  foremen  and 
directors  in  the  factory.  First,  they  graded  the  papers  on 
the  basis  of  Neatness;  Second,  according  to  the  number  of 
strokes  made;  Third,  according  to  the  length  of  the  stroke, 
the  shorter  and  more  firmly  the  stroke  was  made,  the  higher 
was  the  grade  given  to  the  paper ;  Fourth,  the  uniformity  of 
the  cross  stroke,  when  the  strokes  were  approximately  the 
same  length  above  and  below  the  oblique  and  when  they  cros- 
sed at  about  the  center  of  the  oblique  they  were  rated  higher 
than  when  the  reverse  was  true.  The  Judges  were  asked  to 
arrange  the  papers  in  rank  order  of  merit  and  were  asked  to 
consider  first  one  characteristic  then  the  other  in  the  different 
characteristics  mentioned  above.  They  were  requested  to 
pay  no  heed  to  any  attribute  other  than  the  one  specifically 
designated. 

After  each  grading,  the  Experimenter  noted  on  the  back 
of  the  sheet  the  rank  order  given  by  each  judge  in  each 
of  the  features  postulated.  The  different  ratings  were  then 
average,  and  a  complete  scale  derived.  This  rarking  was 
compared  with  the  results  obtained  by  the  same  employees 
in  the  tests  as  well  as  with  the  rank  order  on  the  Criterion 
Scale. 

Personal  traits  of  character  are  revealed  by  even  a  quick 
inspection  of  these  test  sheets,  and  a  capacity  for  precision 
of  movement  can  be  noted  as  well  as  the  subject's  attitude 
toward  monotony.  Many  of  the  girls  began  the  test  in  a 
regular  and  steady  manner  but  grew  careless  after  a  few 
lines  were  done  and  continued  the  task  in  a  slip-shod  fashion. 
Steadiness  of  motor  control  in  these  persons  was  so  limited 
that  the  monotonous  work  of  continually  handling  feathers 
palled  on  them  and  as  the  indices  of  correlation  which  are 
discussed,  shows,  this  test  is  the  best  index  of  capacity 
to  perform  this  particular  grade  of  factory  work  that  has 
been  found. 

The  test  met  with  the  highest  verbal  commendation  from 
the  Firm.  Irrespective  of  any  mathematical  calculations  in 
connection  with  this  test,  the  Steady  Workers  who  tended 
to  make  rather  even,  well-balanced  lines  and  the  careless, 
erratic  Workers  who  were  inclined  to  change  their  methods 
of  crossing  the  lines  perhaps  several  times  during  the  test, 
could  be  sorted  out  after  a  brief  inspection. 

E.    Feather  Sorting  Test. 

When  the  feathers  are  received,  they  are  distributed 
in  mixed  bunches  to  the  girls  in  the  Raw  Feather  Depart- 
ment, who  are  directed  to  arrange  them  into  piles.  In  this 
factory,  the  different  types  of  feathers  are  designated  as 
"Amazons,"  i.  e,  the  broadest  and  widest  feathers;  the  18 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     59 

inch,"  i.  e.  those  18  inches  long;  the  "three  fourths,"  i.  e., 
those  that  are  as  broad  as  the  "Amazons"  but  shorter;  the 
"Byocks,"  which  are  from  the  tail  of  the  ostrich  and  are 
black  and  white;  the  "Blacks,"  i.  e.  all  black,  as  the  name 
signifies;  and  "No.  1055,"  scrawny  feathers,  thinner  and 
narrower  than  the  others.  The  girls  were  told  to  lay  these 
feathers  into  the  six  piles  into  which  they  were  accustomed 
to  place  them.  The  Firm  wished  to  have  a  report  on  the 
Time  Rates  and  the  Accuracy  of  the  girls  in  this  group. 
Such  a  test  could  only  be  of  value  when  applied  to  practised, 
factory  hands,  and  was  to  be  used,  in  this  instance  to  de- 
termine which  persons  should  be  laid  off  in  the  approaching 
slack  period.  For  weeding  out  purposes,  the  test  proved  to 
have  a  distinct  value. 

Seven  ounces  of  feathers  were  given  as  a  standard 
amount:  They  were  laid  before  the  subject  en  masse.  The 
time  for  sorting  this  amount  varied  from  167  seconds  to  329 
seconds,  with  an  average  time  record  of  227  seconds;  an 
A.  D.  of  44.33  seconds;  and  a  S.  D.  of  11.37  seconds. 

There  was  a  range  in  accuracy  from  no  errors  in  one 
instance  to  fifteen  in  another.  The  average  error  was  4.83; 
the  A.  D.  was  5.74;  the  S.  D.  was  7.29. 

Those  whose  time-score  was  nearest  that  of  the  average, 
made  the  best  score  for  accuracy.  The  very  quick  and  the 
very  slow,  had  noticeably  poor  records  for  accuracy. 

A  confusion  of  the  Byocks  with  the  Black  Feathers,  or 
a  failure  to  discriminate  between  the  other  varieties  counted 
as  an  error  and  girls  were  penalized  5  per  cent,  for  each 
mistake  which  was  deducted  from  the  standard  100  per  cent, 
perfect. 

Although  the  feathers  in  other  factories  are  occasionally 
designated  differently,  the  time-records  established  by  this 
fairly  representative  group  forms  a  reliable  basis  for  judg- 
ing the  ability  of  individuals  engaged  in  this  type  of  feather 
work. 

F.    Discrimination  of  Weight  and  Shape  Test. 

The  girls  in  the  Selecting  Department  were  examined 
still  further  by  another  test  designed  to  determine  their 
quickness  of  perception  and  ability  to  discriminate  between 
small  differences  in  weight. 

Eight  wooden  solids  one  one-half  inches  in  diameter  were 
so  fashioned  that  there  were  four  pairs,  each  pair  of  which 
had  similar  bases  and  sides.  Thus  there  was  a  pair  of  seven- 
sided,  eight,  nine  and  ten-sided  solids. 

These  blocks  were  weighted  after  the  manner  of  the 
of  the  Binet-Simon  weight  Test— 3  grams,  6.  9,  12.  15,  18, 
21,  and  24  grams,  respectively.  There  are  more  blocks  in 
this  set  than  in  the  Binet,  but  the  same  difference  between  the 
weight  of  the  blocks  has  been  maintained,  that  is  they  were 
made  progressively  heavier  by  three  grams. 


60     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Two  distinct  problems  were  given:  (I)  Put  the  blocks  in  a 
row  according  to  their  weight, — first,  the  heaviest,  then  the 
next  heaviest,  and  so  on.  (II)  Put  blocks  in  pairs,  according 
to  the  number  of  their  sides.  There  are  two  each  of  like 
sides. 

A  time-limit  of  one  minute  for  each  part  of  the  test  was 
allowed.  A  record  of  each  individual's  arrangement  of  the 
weights  was  kept,  two  correct  arrangements  out  of  three 
were  required  for  credit.  Seventy-five  per  cent,  received 
credit. 

The  nine  and  ten-sided  figures  were  most  often  confused. 
Fifty  per  cent,  of  the  girls  performed  the  pairing  in  45"  with- 
out error.  The  other  girls  made  from  two  to  six  errors 
each  and  required  the  entire  minute  allotted  in  order  to 
arrive  at  a  decision  regarding  the  blocks  with  more  than 
six  sides.  The  methods  employed  by  the  subjects  were  en- 
lightening as  to  the  ability  of  a  subject  to  observe  small 
differences  in  material,  and  to  arrive  at  a  positive  decision 
regarding  those  differences. 

The  girls  were  graded  on  the  basis  of  the  average  rank 
obtained  as  a  result  of  the  two  parts  of  this  test. 


Chapter  V. 
THE  CORRELATIONS 

The  high  value  of  correlations  is  well  recognized  and 
as  Prof.  E.  L.  Thorndike  has  said,  'The  only  sound  principle 
by  which  one  can  interpret  the  tests  is  determined  from  the 
results  of  the  correlations."  (57). 

The  process  of  obtaining  an  index  of  correlation  involves 
the  following  operations: 

First,  each  subject  was  ranked  One,  Two,  Three,  Four, 
etc.,  according  to  her  standing  in  each  individual  test,  as 
compared  with  the  rating  of  her  companions  in  the  same 
test.  In  the  first  ten  tests  the  standardized  methods  of 
scoring  have  been  employed.  The  manner  of  scoring  in  the 
special  tests  devised  by  the  Experimenter  is  described  in  the 
Appendix. 

Those  subjects  who  have  a  like  score  were  ranked  in  order 
on  the  basis  of  the  time  required  to  perform  that  particular 
test.  That  is,  if  two  girls  received  a  rating  of  80  per  cent, 
in  the  Hard  Directions  Test,  for  instance,  and  one  of  these  girls 
completed  the  test  in  75"  while  the  other  girl  took  76"  to  do 
the  same  test,  the  one  who  was  quicker  would  be  ranked 
higher  than  her  more  deliberate  co-worker.  In  case  of  a  "tie" 
for  a  given  rank,  (this  rarely  occurred),  the  "ties"  were 
divided  in  such  manner  as  to  keep  the  total  number  of  ranks 
equal  in  the  series.  If,  for  example,  two  subjects  ranked 
4th  in  a  test,  making  an  identical  score  in  both  time  and 
degree  of  accuracy  each  was  assigned  the  rank  4.5  in  the 
series  thus  replacing  4  and  5. 

Then,  each  girl  having  been  given  a  rank  order  of  merit 
in  each  test,  a  comparative  calculation  of  the  inter-relations 
between  each  test  and  every  other  test  was  derived  by  means 
of  the  Pearson  Formula,  in  which  r,  or  the  coefficient  of 
correlation  equals 

6xSum  of  Da  • 
n  (n2  - 1) 

This  coefficient  is  so  derived  that  when  its  value  is  Unity 
the  two  variables  have  perfect  concomitance,  and  when  its 
value  is  Zero  three  is  an  absence  of  relationship,  so  far  as 
the  conditions  of  the  experimenter  are  concerned.  It  is  evident 
that  the  reliability  of  this  coefficient  increases  with  the  num- 

61 


62     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

ber  of  cases  compared  and  also  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
r  obtained. 

Seventy-five  subjects  were  tested  in  this  investigation. 
a  sufficiently  large  number  to  demonstrate  in  a  fairly  reliable 
manner  the  value  of  the  tests  as  indices  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  employees. 

The  Probable  Error  was  determined  by  means  of  the 
Pearson  Formula.  i-r2 

l/n         Unless  a  correlation  be  at 

least  twice  as  large  as  its  probable  error  it  lacks  significance, 
and  of  course,  to  be  a  truly  trustworthy  index  it  should  befour 
or  five  times  as  large. 

The  inter-correlations  between  the  tests  are  indicated  in 
the  accompanying  table: 

But  since  the  results  obtained  in  the  various  tests  ad- 
ministered by  the  experimenter  can  have  no  value  until  they 
have  been  compared  with  a  fixed  standard  not  open  to  question, 
it  was  decided  to  secure  such  a  standard  in  the  form  of  an 
Efficiency  Roster  which  should  be  compiled  from  ratings  made 
by  the  Firm.  It  will  be  apparent  that  a  rank  order  arrange- 
ment of  the  employees  made  by  task-masters  who  watched 

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PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    63 


the  performance  of  these  workers  for  a  period  of  months  is 
a  criterion  not  to  be  gainsaid.  No  worker  who  had  been  less 
than  six  months  in  the  Factory  was  examined.  In  order  to 
give  more  authority  to  this  index,  separate  appreciations  were 
asked  of  four  different  individuals,  the  Manager,  the  Foreman 
and  two  of  the  Forewomen. 

The  procedure  was  carried  on  in  this  manner.  The 
Experimenter  arranged  four  sets  of  seventy-five  cards  size 
3x5  inches.  On  each  card  of  each  set  was  written  the  name 
and  the  identification  number  of  each  of  the  seventy-five 
girl  who  had  been  submitted  to  the  tests.  On  the  back  of 
each  card  the  Experimenter  wrote: — 1.  General  Intelligence. 
2.  Reliability.  3.  Promotion.  The  four  judges  were  each 
given  a  set  of  these  cards  and  were  directed  to  rank  the 
girls  whose  names  appeared  thereon  in  order  of  merit;  first, 
on  the  basis  of  his  personal  opinion  of  the  General  Intelligence 
of  the  girl.  The  judges  were  asked  to  disregard  every  other 
characteristic  except  the  intelligence  of  the  individual.  The 
subsequent  rankings  to  be  made  were  not  mentioned  until 
each  judge  had  completed  his  rating.  The  same  directions 
were  given  when  the  other  rankings  were  obtained.  After 
each  ranking,  the  numerical  order  in  which  each  girl  was 
placed  by  the  judge  was  noted. 

A  composite  ranking  was  then  derived  for  each  girl  by 
calculating  her  average  position  in  all  four  scales  in  each 
of  three  characteristics,  Intelligence,  Reliability,  and  rank 
order  for  Promotion.  Correlations  between  this  Composite  or 
Firm  Scale  show  positive  indices  raging  from  plus  28  to  80. 

This  scale  froms  the  basis  for  the  Teams  of  Tests  to  be 
developed  for  practical  application  in  the  Factory. 

Rank        Card-      Substi-    Sorting    Cancella-0?.™6*1?'    Motor  Criterion 
Order     Sorting     tution       Test         tion--A         -"         Control     Scale 


First  Quartile 


1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 


64     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Cancella- 


Rank 
Order 

Card-   Substi-  Sorting  Cancella-  tion  of   Motor  Criterion 
Sorting  tution   Test    tion-A   Digits   Control   Scale 

Second  Quartile 

19 

45 

59 

34 

29 

58 

5 

5 

20 

15 

30 

74 

30 

32 

48 

63 

21 

32 

35 

16 

5 

21 

25 

22 

22 

9 

70 

40 

10 

59 

59 

58 

23 

64 

32 

47 

24 

5 

3 

53 

24 

70 

37 

68 

48 

71 

22 

64 

25 

50 

75 

31 

54 

24 

34 

16 

26 

66 

72 

12 

15 

50 

9 

39 

27 

31 

21 

75 

40 

25 

21 

6 

28 

22 

48 

32 

59 

42 

23 

37 

29 

5 

31 

38 

37 

43 

75 

17 

30 

59 

7 

72 

64 

62 

5 

71 

31 

37 

42 

10 

50 

74 

41 

72 

32 

39 

52 

45 

58 

17 

64 

31 

33 

25 

58 

28 

75 

15 

68 

26 

34 

71 

40 

7 

43 

26 

26 

7 

35 
36 

58 
6 

i 

5 
37 

8 
20 

68 
8 

39 
72 

67 
29 

Third 

Quartile 

37 

60 

46 

22 

23 

45 

52 

46 

38 

1 

67 

35 

46 

63 

49 

40 

39 

14 

15 

3 

47 

46 

16 

1 

40 

17 

18 

64 

55 

10 

1 

54 

41 

26 

16 

70 

57 

12 

70 

23 

42 

67 

4 

58 

12 

3 

14 

62 

43 

41 

12 

8 

17 

37 

33 

35 

44 

16 

3 

4 

6 

50 

73 

38 

45 

44 

50 

42 

62 

36 

46 

44 

46 

3 

22 

36 

4 

28 

53 

60 

47 

10 

1 

67 

13 

41 

27 

21 

48 

20 

28 

52 

22 

61 

11 

70 

49 

23 

2 

60 

33 

23 

18 

74 

50 

29 

8 

56 

11 

19 

13 

52 

51 

34 

74 

41 

21 

67 

63 

12 

52 

38 

60 

73 

52 

22 

74 

49 

53 

42 

10 

61 

19 

38 

57 

61 

54 

52 

69 

53 

2 

33 

42 

68 

Fourth 

Quartile 

55 

35 

62 

11 

32 

60 

8 

8 

56 

27 

17 

54 

25 

31 

6 

10 

57 

18 

19 

2 

49 

18 

67 

4 

58 

4 

55 

43 

14 

16 

69 

55 

59 

28 

56 

44 

60 

11 

7 

11 

60 

53 

9 

48 

18 

70 

50 

66 

61 

2 

41 

69 

31 

73 

60 

09 

62 

72 

61 

26 

51 

27 

20 

48 

63 

54 

64 

17 

72 

7 

10 

2 

64 

55 

13 

55 

67 

28 

35 

73 

65 

19 

43 

49 

73 

72 

2 

42 

66 

23 

27 

18 

26 

69 

56 

84 

67 

57 

44 

19 

27 

14 

7 

67 

68 

7 

68 

27 

56 

55 

61 

27 

69 

51 

57 

23 

28 

35 

44 

41 

70 

73 

20 

20 

41 

64 

28 

28 

71 

48 

34 

14 

44 

49 

55 

19 

72 

74 

73 

6 

35 

44 

4 

3 

73 

11 

54 

33 

69 

53 

37 

18 

74 

20 

11 

57 

74 

51 

19 

83 

75 

69 

51 

51 

7 

B7 

51 

61 

PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     65 


JM 

I 

Easy 
Oppositea 

11 

f, 

SB 

Trabue 
Compl. 

I 
fj 

nH 

Easy  Direc- 
tions No.  1 

Easy  Direc- 
tions No.  2 

Hard 
Directions 

Av.  8. 
Directions 

SOT 

Rank  Order 
Binet 

First 

Quartile 

1 

59 

1 

29 

39 

5 

24 

71 

58 

65 

65 

1.6 

2 

24 

30 

70 

59 

65 

36 

75 

36 

75 

48 

1.5 

3 

75 

24 

75 

48 

39 

15 

59 

75 

71 

76 

5.6 

4 

65 

70 

63 

5 

16 

75 

15 

59 

24 

45 

5.5 

5 

29 

65 

38 

65 

71 

59 

6 

39 

36 

47 

5.5 

6 

1 

39 

52 

75 

66 

65 

59 

70 

34 

24 

5.5 

7 

15 

45 

59 

58 

54 

15 

65 

24 

30 

71 

5.5 

8 

36 

39 

7 

29 

58 

63 

37 

40 

5 

1 

6.5 

9 

14 

16 

39 

30   74 

45 

14 

36 

47 

59 

10.5 

10 

71 

5 

24 

17 

47 

58 

48 

43 

6 

29 

10.5 

11 

45 

38 

66 

70 

61 

47 

36 

63 

15 

70 

10.5 

12 

26 

16 

71 

45 

24 

48 

5 

5 

48 

24 

10.5 

13 

58 

9 

60 

21 

14 

66 

21 

38 

21 

25 

15. 

14 

17 

29 

30 

32 

34 

21 

39 

52 

45 

20 

15. 

15 

48 

42 

1 

22  - 

63 

6 

64 

30 

58 

31 

15. 

16 

70 

71 

36 

61 

52 

20 

7 

6 

9 

21 

15. 

17 

45 

40 

20 

40 

43 

17 

45 

48 

64 

32 

16. 

18 

68 

36 

16 

6 

1 

37 

52 

21 

7 

60 

15. 

Second 

Quartile 

19 

30 

61 

34 

36 

72 

64 

46 

14 

52 

6 

15. 

20 

52 

59 

55 

66 

38 

14 

72 

29 

40 

58 

15. 

21 

38 

72 

61 

50 

64 

46 

1 

10 

66 

37 

15. 

22 

20 

12 

42 

52 

45 

7 

49 

64 

29 

46 

16. 

23 

12 

60 

45 

14 

17 

29 

8 

15 

38 

49 

15. 

24 

53 

6 

37 

15 

53 

54 

12 

49 

1 

72 

25. 

25 

32 

68 

9 

71 

40 

39 

55 

66 

49 

62 

25. 

26 

21 

21 

13 

34 

36 

72 

23 

74 

16 

43 

25. 

27 

50 

56 

72 

1 

20 

40 

61 

22 

46 

23 

25. 

28 

63 

52 

53 

67 

13 

22 

58 

33 

32 

9 

25. 

29 

37 

74 

58 

16 

8 

23 

9 

20 

12 

63 

25. 

30 

9 

23 

6 

54 

60 

50 

61 

17 

23 

15 

25. 

31 

72 

48 

21 

60 

9 

16 

66 

50 

20 

56 

25. 

32 

23 

28 

23 

33 

48 

71 

74 

7 

34 

39 

25. 

33 

13 

53 

17 

26 

23 

12 

40 

53 

42 

22 

38.5 

34 

63 

41 

12 

42 

26 

61 

42 

34 

10 

11 

38.5 

35 

31 

8 

13 

46 

12 

32 

4 

52 

22 

15 

38.5 

33 

33 

53 

17 

26 

23 

12 

40 

53 

42 

22 

38.5 

34 

63 

41 

12 

42 

26 

61 

42 

34 

10 

11 

38.5 

35 

31 

8 

13 

46 

12 

32 

4 

42 

22 

54 

38.5 

36 

60 

17 

28 

27 

31 

43 

23 

74 

13 

38.5 

66     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 


1 

M 

Easy 
Opposites 

Mixed  Rela 
tions  No.  1 

Mixed  Rela 
tiona  No.  2 

V 

2* 

£l 

Proverbs 
Test 

Easy  Direc- 
tions No.  1 

Easy  Direc- 
tions No.  2 

Hard 
Directions 

Av.  3 
Directions 

•M  C 
II 

&W 

Rank  Order 

Bint* 

Third  Quartile 

37 

38 

35 

7 

15 

26 

6 

50 

28 
56 

31 
10 

38 

8 

50 
53 

1 
4 

43 
61 

42 
31 

38.5 
38.5 

39 
40 

15 
34 

22 
31 

56 
27 

38 

8 

68 
21 

1 
33 

13 
19 

37 
28 

25 
60 

54 
52 

38.5 
38.5 

41 

74 

63 

43 

10 

37 

28 

33 

46 

72 

7 

38.5 

42 

4 

7 

19 

73 

56 

41 

38 

54 

8 

4 

38.5 

43 

25 

18 

46 

43 

22 

74 

32 

60 

4 

55 

38.5 

44 

64 

10 

73 

23 

41 

11 

18 

72 

26 

3 

49. 

45 

42 

54 

49 

12 

62 

13 

28 

26 

33 

40 

49. 

46 

44 

3 

11 

13 

28 

34 

60 

62 

31 

14 

49. 

47 

43 

4 

15 

49 

27 

67 

31 

13 

56 

41 

49. 

48 

11 

55 

ia 

67 

42 

56 

50 

67 

13 

27 

49. 

49 

2 

19 

54 

41 

35 

19 

17 

61 

18 

26 

49. 

50 

67 

11 

74 

r  3 

19 

26 

68 

56 

67 

35 

49. 

51 

41 

73 

3 

68 

57 

35 

41 

19 

27 

12 

49. 

52 

19 

32 

37 

11 

3 

42 

2 

8 

27 

68 

49. 

63 

28 

46 

41 

2 

73 

27 

44 

57 

55 

8 

49. 

54 

67 

49 

67 

4 

15 

73 

10 

56 

11 

28 

56. 

Fouth  Quartile 

65 

8 

13 

14 

53 

34 

68 

74 

44 

41 

60 

56. 

56 

61 

64 

25 

20 

32 

18 

56 

73 

68 

10 

59. 

67 

3 

67 

4 

74 

32 

55 

25 

41 

73 

68 

56. 

58 

18 

2 

48 

35 

4 

44 

51 

11 

2 

56 

56. 

59 

70 

71 

20 

61 

43 

22 

7 

6 

29 

51 

59. 

60 

56 

69 

27 

25 

54 

62 

35 

69 

42 

19 

59. 

61 

73 

33 

4 

44 

18 

3 

57 

27 

3 

57 

59. 

62 

69 

57 

2 

69 

51 

69 

3 

35 

51 

18 

59. 

63 

38 

72 

61 

50 

64 

46 

26 

14 

37 

49 

59. 

64 

10 

14 

35 

55 

46 

4 

67 

31 

2 

28 

68. 

65 

40 

54 

41 

12 

62 

13 

28 

62 

33 

43 

68. 

66 

8 

13 

14 

50 

44 

68 

74 

41 

19 

60 

68. 

67 

35 

10 

6 

28 

31 

38 

53 

4 

61 

61 

68. 

68 

71 

55 

44 

62 

60 

57 

11 

2 

57 

44 

68. 

69 

73 

30 

4 

44 

18 

3 

69 

30 

51 

2 

69. 

70 

19 

32 

31 

11 

73 

42 

2 

8 

27 

33 

68. 

71 

5 

20 

69 

25 

54 

62 

62 

69 

46 

69 

68. 

72 

6 

25 

28 

62 

69 

57 

35 

2 

57 

44 

72. 

73 

16 

27 

33 

44 

18 

3 

57 

27 

3 

57 

73. 

74 

22 

34 

57 

51 

55 

69 

3 

28 

51 

18 

74. 

76 

27 

51 

20 

69 

44 

33 

20 

51 

69 

51 

75. 

When  the  members  of  the  Firm  were  asked  to  arrange 
all  the  employees  in  rank  order  on  the  basis  of  their  suit- 
ability for  Promotion,  they  stated  that  some  persons  would 
not  be  promoted  under  any  consideration.  All  four  judges 
agreed  that  twenty-four  out  of  the  seventy-five  employees 
would  remain  statu  quo.  The  twenty  cards  representing  these 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    67 

persons  were  removed  from  the  pack.  The  Manager  then  con- 
sented to  arrange  this  collection  of  non-promotable  persons  in 
rank  order  on  the  ground  of  their  general  efficiency.  According 
to  this  ranking,  the  twenty-four  employees  designated  were 
given  grades  after  the  fifty-one  had  been  placed  in  order  for 
Promotion.  The  Judges  arranged  them  also  in  rank  order 
on  the  basis  of  the  other  two  characteristics  and  the  average 
position  thus  derived  placed  them  in  gradation  with  their 
confreres. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  four  judges  may  disagree  as 
to  the  exact  rank  of  the  individual  girl ;  their  ideas  as  to  what 
is  meant  by  the  terms  General  Intelligence  and  Reliability 
may  be  unlike,  but  the  average  position  achieved  by  each 
girl  in  these  three  characteristics  cannot  be  biassed  by 
individual  misapprehensions.  Ranked  order  scales  in  estimat- 
ing the  efficiency  of  a  large  group  of  persons  are  admittedly 
fairer  when  a  combined  rating  of  several  competent  judges 
is  made. 

By  an  inspection  of  the  Table  of  Correlations,  certain 
facts  of  interest  may  be  noted. 

The  easiest  tests  bear  a  higher  relation  to  the  Criterion 
than  do  the  more  difficult  tests  such  as  the  Proverbs  and  the 
two  Mixed  Relations  Tests. 

The  results  in  the  Mixed  Relations  Tests  do  not  con- 
firm the  findings  of  Wyatt  (51)  who  states  that  they  form 
the  highest  correlation  with  Intelligence  of  any  of  the  tests 
save  the  Trabue  Completion. 

The  Coefficients  of  Correlation  between  the  Special  Tests 
and  the  Criterion  demonstrate  that  the  Card  Sorting,  the 
Sorting  Test  No.  2  and  the  Motor  Control  Test  are  of  value, 
and  inasmuch  as  they  represent  motor  activities  similar  to 
tasks  performed  in  the  Factory  they  should  be  regarded  with 
special  significance.  The  Card  Sorting  Test  gives  an  index 
of  plus  .73.,  P.  E.  .0280.  The  Sorting  Test  No.  2  a  positive 
index  of  .60.,  P.  E.  .0498.  The  Motor  Control  Test  gives  the 
highest  coefficient  of  any  of  the  tests  that  were  presented  to 
the  group,  i.  e.  plus  .80.,  P.  E.  .02484. 

Both  of  the  Mixed  Relationship  Tests  show  fairly  high 
indices  of  correlations  between  them  and  the  Directions  Tests, 
and  between  them  and  the  Linguistic  Tests.  In  studying 
the  Table  the  low  inter-correlations  between  these  two  tests 
and  the  purely  mechanical  tests  are  not  surprising.  In  the 
records  of  individual  girls  it  is  apparent  that  with  a  few 
exceptions  some  of  them  do  consistently  well  in  all  tests  that 
demand  on  or  the  other  type  of  ability,  scholastic  or  motor. 

The  Cancellation  Tests  correlated  with  each  of  the  other 
tests  give  low  but  positive  indices.  As  was  noted  under  the 
discussion  of  the  Binet  Test,  this  type  of  test  does  not  bear  a 
high  correlation  with  tests  that  demand  General  Intelligence. 


68     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Dr.  Weidensall  found  a  positive  index  of  .52.,  P.  E.  .055. 
between  the  A-Test  and  General  Intelligence  (31),  while  our 
coefficient  is  but  .36.,  P.  E.  .0681.  In  the  same  group  of  Bed- 
ford women  tested,  she  found  a  correspondence  in  this  test 
between  the  rate  of  its  performance  and  the  difference  in 
intelligence  as  indicated  by  school  grade.  This  was  to  be 
noted  in  the  Factory  group  also.  By  a  comparison  made 
between  the  subjects  arranged  in  order  on  the  basis  of  their 
time-records  in  the  A-Test  and  the  grade  in  school  attained 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  one  finds  the  retarded  pupils 
required  7  per  cent,  longer  than  did  the  median  of  the  group  to 
perform  the  test. 

Terman  and  Bagley  obtained  a  negative  correlation 
and  Simpson  (59)  a  slightly  positive  one  between  intelligence 
and  skill  in  the  A-Test. 

In  "School  and  Society"  (Vol.  V.,  P.  24),  there  is  a 
report  of  an  experiment  in  which  the  Cancellation  Tests  cor- 
relate negatively  with  the  Composite  Tests  which  are  adjud- 
ged good  measures  of  mental  acumen.  To  quote  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  McCall,  "This  proves  that  a  negative  correlation 
may  exist  between  apparently  desirable  traits." 

In  this  study,  however,  the  Cancellation  Tests  bear  pos- 
itive rather  than  negative  relations  to  the  other  tests  and 
would  seem  to  uphold  Prof.  Thorndike's  (60)  theory  that 
there  is  not  an  inverse  ratio  between  desirable  traits. 

Correlated  with  each  other,  the  Cancellation  A-Test  and 
the  Digits  Test  indicate  a  relationship  of  plus  .44.,  P.  E.  .0629. 
This  is  not,  comparatively  speaking,  a  high  correlation  for 
between  tests  that  demand  the  same  type  of  reaction  there 
is  usually  a  closer  index  of  relationship.  For  instance,  be- 
tween the  two  Mixed  Relationship  Tests  there  is  a  positive 
coefficient  of  .80.,  P.  E.  .0280.,  and  between  the  three  Direc- 
tions tests  there  are  fairly  high  indices  of  correlation. 

The  reason  for  this  case  of  low  inter-correlation  between 
two  tests  of  a  similar  type  may  have  been  a  lack  of  interest 
in  continuing  at  work  of  the  same  kind,  evidenced  by  several 
persons  when  performing  the  second  cancellation  test. 

From  an  inspection  of  this  table,  there  are  no  indications 
of  such  a  hierarchy  of  coefficients  as  is  demonstrated  by  Burt's 
"Hierarchy  of  the  Specific  Intelligences". 

Ranked  in  the  order  of  the  degree  in  which  they  correlate 
with  the  Criterion,  the  tests  are  Motor  Control,  the  Card 
Sorting  test;  Easy  Directions  No.  2,  Averaged  3-Directions, 
Easy  Directions  No.  1;  Easy  Opposites;  Trabue  Completion, 
(1),  the  Substitution  Test,  Sorting  Test,  Hard  Directions, 
Binet  Proverbs,  Digits,  Average  of  2-Cancellation  Tests,  Mix- 
ed Relations  No.  2.,  A-Test. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    69 

Although  there  is  no  very  special  conclusion  to  be 
drawn  in  regard  to  the  possession  of  "general  ability",  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  subjects  tend  to  do  well  in  whatsoever 
test  they  are  given  to  execute. 

The  Special  Tests. 

Twenty  girls  chosen  at  random  from  the  Selecting  Depart- 
ment were  submitted  to  the  following  tests  especially  devised 
by  the  Experimenter  to  measure  their  capacity  to  perform 
the  tasks  demanded  in  this  department:  (1).  Weight  and 
Form;  (2).  Color  Discrimination;  (3).  Feather  Sorting; 
(4).  Judgment.  These  tests  are  described  on  Pages  50-60. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  tests,  the  Manager,  the  Fore- 
man and  the  Forewoman  in  charge  of  the  Selecting  Depart- 
ment made  a  rank  order  arrangement  of  this  particular  group 
of  employees  on  the  basis  of  the  "Efficiency  displayed  by  each 
in  their  daily  work".  The  average  of  these  three  ratings 
formed  a  new  scale,  the  Criterion,  with  which  the  girls'  stand- 
ing in  the  four  tests  have  been  correlated. 

Rank  Order  of  Selecting  Department  Girls  in  Tests  indicated. 
Criterion — Three-fold  estimate  of  Firm. 


Rank 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 


Judgment     Weights 


Feathers      Criterion 


51 


41 


16 


51 


a  The  coefficients  were  derived  by  means  of  the  Formula 


r=l- 


Gxsum  of  D2 


n  (n2_i)        In  this  study  n  =  20. 


70     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

The  result  of  this  correlation  is  shown  in  this  table: 
Wt.  Form   Color  Dis.  Feathers  Judgment  Criterion 


Wt.  Form      1.00 

.26 

.37 

.33 

.22 

Color  Dis. 

1.00 

.61 

.56 

.58 

Feathers 

1.00 

.64 

.76 

Judgment 

1.00 

.65 

Criterion 

The  Feather  Sorting  Test  which  involves  the  use  of  the 
material  the  girls  are  familiar  with  gives  the  highest  coeffi- 
cient of  correlation,  .76. 

The  Judgment  Test  which  the  Firm  found  of  so  much 
value  that  it  was  adopted  immediately  by  the  Employment 
Forman,  ranks  second.  This  test  measures  the  cacacity  for 
making  quick  and  accurate  decisions,  and  is  also  similar  in 
its  demands  to  the  work  of  the  department. 

Time  vs.  Accuracy. 

One  of  the  differences  between  a  superior  and  inferior 
worker  lies  in  the  speed  with  which  each  performs  his  task. 

In  studying  the  individual  variations  of  the  members 
of  this  group  two  fairly  distinct  types  of  time-scores  may  be 
noted  the  time-record  of  the  slow,  methodical  worker  and 
that  of  the  nervous,  quick,  distractable  worker.  The  deliber- 
ate and  painstaking  girl  stood  higher  in  the  estimation  of  her 
employers  than  did  the  quicker  and  more  alert  girl  who  was 
inclined  to  be  inaccurate  and  careless.  The  latter  made  good 
time  records  but  in  excellence  of  performance,  her  score  was 
low.  Many  of  these  girls  over-emphasized  the  desirability  for 
haste  and  rushed  through  the  tests,  assuming  that  the  faster 
they  worked  the  better  it  would  be  for  them.  This  was  done 
regardless  of  the  admonition  to  "work  carefully".  Such  re- 
actions were  noticeable  in  the  first  written  tests  performed 
by  Subjects  No.  25,  No.  56,  60,  and  No.  70.  in  the  Easy 
Opposites  and  in  the  Mixed  Relations  Tests.  Speed  and  Ac- 
curacy with  them  revealed  a  negative  correlation. 

The  reactions  of  the  employees  numbered  65,  75,  24,  71, 
15,  and  63  for  example,  showed  a  fair  and  consistently  high 
rating  in  the  tests  so  far  as  accuracy  or  performance  went 
but  their  time-scores  were  variable  and  not  below  average 
length. 

The  Coefficient  of  Correlation  between  Time  and  score 
for  this  group  is  usually  highest  in  those  tests  in  which  a 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     71 

demand  is  made  primarily  upon  motor  activity.  Thus,  in  the 
following  tests  there  is  a  positive  correlation  between  time 
and  score  of: 

Test  Coefficient  P.  E. 

Substitution    44  028. 

Digits   57  0361. 

Sorting  Test 62  031. 

Motor  Control 65  019. 

In  the  Linguistic  Tests,  the  indices  between  Time  and 
Score  show  positive  but  low  correlation,  thus: 

Trabue  Completion— .23.,  P.E.  .081. ;  Proverbs  Test,  .20., 
P.E....015. 

The  Directions  Tests  give  positive  indices  of  .50.,  51.  and 
.53.,  respectively. 

Between  Time  and  Score  in  the  Mixed  Relations  Tests 
there  was  a  positive  coefficient  of  .27.,  P.E.  .037.,  and  .31., 
P.E.  .036. 

While  it  cannot  be  considered  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  correlation  between  Speed  and  Accuracy  is  always  higher 
in  tests  involving  motor  activity  when  such  a  group  as  this 
is  examined,  the  probability  is  that  this  would  be  the  case. 

The  question  arises  as  to  the  value  that  should  be  placed 
upon  Speed  alone  as  a  legitimate  index  of  mental  efficiency. 
In  the  Factory,  Speed  per  se  has,  in  general,  a  negligible 
appraisal.  Unless  Speed  is  accompanied  by  Accuracy,  the 
Firm  announced  it  an  undesirable  trait  in  an  employee. 

It  is  no  doubt  true  that  when  some  individuals,  working 
under  constant  conditions,  increase  their  speed,  they  tend 
to  increase  the  number  of  errors,  but  other  individuals  under 
like  conditions  may  show  a  decrease  in  their  errors.  Prof. 
Whipple  (7)  quotes  results  that  show  that  the  faster  sub- 
jects are  also  the  most  accurate.  In  six  of  his  groups,  Brown 
(58)  found  positive  correlations  between  Speed  and  Accuracy 
of  Adding  that  ranged  from  .13  to  43.,  with  P.  E.s  ranging 
from  .07  to  .12.  With  small  groups  of  college  students,  Prof. 
Whipple  states  that  he  has  obtained  positive  correlations  of 
.19  in  the  case  of  adding  and  as  high  as  .86  for  mental  multi- 
plication. (7) . 

The  Factory  Girls  cannot  be  judged  by  the  same  stand- 
ards as  the  College  Students  in  the  reaction  time  required 
to  perform  mental  tests. 

All  save  those  subjects  whose  standing  in  the  tests 
placed  them  in  the  upper  third  of  the  group  react  slowly  to 
all  stimuli.  Their  cerebrations  are  deliberate  even  when  the 
simplest  matters  are  under  consideration.  In  some  cases,  the 
slow  reactions  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  subjects  are  un- 
accustomed to  writing,  and  the  co-ordinations  necessary  for 


72     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 


this  form  of  activity  show  disuse.  Though  the  median  age 
of  the  subjects  was  seventeen,  there  are  several  of  the  older 
women  have  been  out  of  school  a  great  many  years.  For 
them  the  task  of  writing  their  responses  involved  an  actually 
laborious  application  of  unhabitual  motivity. 

The  weight,  then,  that  is  to  be  placed  upon  an  individual 
girl's  time-record  in  her  performance  of  tests  in  this  Factory 
must  depend  upon  her  accuracy  of  achievement  rather  than 
upon  the  time  element  alone. 


Chapter  VI. 
1.      MULTIPLE  CORRELATIONS. 


The  correlations  obtained  between  the  results  of  the 
employees'  standing  in  each  of  the  several  tests  and  the  rank- 
ing of  these  employees  made  by  the  Firm  vary  according  to 
the  particular  test  applied.  However,  in  the  sum-total  of 
reactions  they  indicate  that  the  verdict  secured  through  the 
tests  approximates  the  valuation  established  by  the  Firm 
especially  as  it  affects  the  upper  and  lower  quartiles  of  the 
Scales  involved. 

Meumann  (59)  states  that  it  is  an  error  frequently  made 
by  the  exponents  of  what  he  calls  "correlation  psychology" 
to  conclude  that  because  a  high  correlation  exists  between 
any  two  elements  it  is  necessarily  a  proof  of  the  good  qualities 
of  both.  "Both",  he  states,  "may  be  one-sided".  A  com- 
bination, therefore,  of  several  tests  should  be  made  in  order 
to  obtain  their  composite  valuation.  Thus  any  criticism 
that  too  great  emphasis  has  been  placed  upon  the  result  of 
the  correlations  between  the  Criterion  and  single  tests  may 
be  forestalled. 

Stern  (60)  and  Burt  (61)  found  that  the  higher  correla- 
tion of  the  combined  results  of  several  tests  show  that  one 
test  compensates  for  another,  each  calling  forth  particular 
mental  functions,  so  that  only  through  such  combination  can 
a  total  picture  of  intelligence  be  created.  The  combined  co- 
efficients obtained  from  several  tests  have  been  calculated, 
therefore,  in  this  group. 

Indeed,  one  of  the  objects  of  this  investigation  is  to 
demonstrate  the  combinations  of  tests  that  may  be  given 
practical  application  at  the  Factory.  For  it  is  an  obvious 
fact  that  the  index  derived  from  the  presentation  of  a  group 
of  tests  will  be  a  mope  reliable  indicator  than  will  the  single 
isolated  test  that  is  naturally  more  or  less  narrow  in  scope. 

The  selection  of  tests  to  form  a  Team  should  be  made  on 
the  basis  of  the  magnitude  of  the  coefficients  of  correlation. 

"A  Multiple  Correlation  Coefficient  is  that  correlation 
which  expresses  the  total  efficiency  of  the  scale  when  the  tests 
choosen  are  those  that  bear  the  best  or  highest  correlation 
with  the  Criterion."  By  this  method  there  may  be  constructed 
a  combination  of  tests  which  will  predict  "general  ability" 
better  than  can  be  done  by  a  single  test. 

73 


74     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Tests  for  a  Team  should  bear  high  correlation  to  the 
Criterion  and  low  indices  of  correlation  with  each  other. 

High  inter-correlations  indicate  the  existence  of  a  too- 
close  resemblance  between  the  tests  to  make  their  combina- 
tion and  subsequent  use  as  a  Team  worth  while. 

Recently,  Dr.  Herbert  Toops  of  the  Institute  for  Educa- 
tional Research  has  devised  a  new  method  for  the  more  rapid 
calculation  of  Test-Combinations  than  those  formerly  in  use. 
He  has  transmuted  algebraically  the  old  method  of  procedure 
and  by  means  of  a  printed  form  made  it  possible  to  reduce 

(ric)  (riu)   2  (rue)  (ric)  (riu) 

the  formula,  to  a  series  of  more 

l-(ruc)2 

or  less  mechanical  operations.  This  method  has  not  yet 
been  published,  and  I  am  indebted  to  him  for  his  verbal 
demonstration  that  has  already  facilitated  this  portion  of  the 
present  study. 

In  general  terms,  the  rule  is  to  select  from  the  Table  of 
Correlations  that  test  which  bears  the  highest  relationship 
to  the  Criterion.  Ordinarily,  the  subsequent  choice  of  a  test 
should  be  one  which  bears  a  high  correlation  to  the  Criterion 
but  a  low  index  to  the  first  test  chosen. 

We  assume  a  weighting  of  1.00  for  the  first  test  as  its 
Coefficient  more  closely  approximates  unity  than  do  any  of 
the  other  tests.  The  object  in  selecting  a  Team  of  Tests  is 
to  determine  that  series  of  tests  which  will  approach  most 
nearly  to  the  ideal  relationship  of  unity.  , 

Following  the  prescribed  method  of  procedure,  test  after 
test  may  be  added  to  the  original  pair  and  an  increasingly 
higher  coefficient  be  obtained  without  changing  the  weights 
of  the  tests  already  in  the  combination. 

Occasionally,  the  gain  in  the  increment  added  is  not 
sufficiently  large  to  make  the  particular  test  combined  of 
value.  When  this  occurs,  that  especial  test  is  to  be  elimin- 
ated so  far  as  that  test-combination  is  concerned  and  another 
test  may  be  chosen  in  its  place.  Herein  lies  one  of  the  ap- 
parent advantages  offered  by  this  method. 

As  an  illustration,  in  this  study,  the  Easy  Directions 
Test  No.  2  with  its  positive  coefficient  of  .71  was  selected  as 
the  Key  Test ;  to  it  was  added  the  Substitution  Test,  with  an 
index  of  .60  with  the  Criterion  and  its  inter-correlation  of  .32. 
This  combination  gives  an  index  of  .8368.  Next,  the  Digits 
Test  was  added  with  its  Criterion  Coefficient  of  .49.,  and  its 
inter-relating  coefficients  of  .31  and  .42  which  again  raises 
the  multiple  coefficient  to  .8432.  By  adding  the  Sorting  Test 
(Criterion  Coef.  equals  .56.,  inter-correlations  equal  .30.,  36.) 
to  this  combination,  the  coefficient  becomes  .8436.,  a  gain  of 
only  .0013.  Hence,  it  is  advisable  to  drop  the  Sorting  Test 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     75 

in  this  particular  combination,  and  in  its  place,  add  the  Can- 
cellation of  A-Test  which  has  a  Criterion  coefficient  of  .39. 
The  Multiple  Coefficient  then  becomes  .8747.  As  these  tests 
require  as  a  maximum  about  ten  minutes  for  their  execution, 
the  Team  seems  an  extremely  practical  one. 

The  next  combination  selected  consists  of  the  Card  Sort- 
ing Test  with  its  coefficient  of  .73  with  the  Criterion  and  the 
Average  of  the  Three  Directions  Tests  which  correlates 
with  the  Criterion  with  a  coefficient  of  .70.  The  inter-corre- 
lation between  the  two  is  .55.  Combined,  the  two  tests  give 
a  coefficient  of  .8128.  Now  if  we  add  to  this  combinatiop  the 
Trabue  with  its  coefficient  of  .62  when  correlated  with  the 
Criterion,  and  of  .75  correlatd  with  the  Three  Directions,  and 
of  .47  correlated  with  the  Sorting  Test,  we  get  an  increase  in 
our  coefficient  of  .0049;  to  this  combination,  add  the  Digits 
Test  (Criterion  Correlation  equals  .49;  Inter-correlations  of 
.35.,  42.,  .43.,)  which  raises  the  coefficient  to  .8217;  to  this  we 
now  choose  to  add  the  Substitution  Test  which  has  a  co- 
efficient of  .60  when  correlated  with  the  Criterion,  and  of 
.56.,  .48.,  .43  and  .40  when  correlated  with  the  rest  of  tests 
in  the  combination.  The  coefficient  resulting  from  this  oper- 
ation rises  more  decisively  and  gives  us  a  coefficient  of  .8507 

Judging  from  the  time-records  made  by  this  group  of 
girls,  this  entire  set  would  require  approximately  22' 48. 5". 
Some  of  the  other  test-combinations  have  proved  of  greater 
value  because  less  time  is  required  for  their  execution,  and 
they  offer  a  larger  variety  of  mental  exercises. 

For  instance,  the  Motor  Control  Test  which  combined 
with  the  Sorting  Test  (Criterion  Coefficients  of  .80  and  73; 
inter-correlation  of .54)  gives  an  index  of  .8667.  Adding  to 
it  the  Easy  Directions  No.  2,  (Criterion  Index  equals  .71., 
inter-correlations  equal  .36:  .33),  and  the  Multiple  Coefficient 
becomes  .8773.,  an  increase  of  .0106.  If  the  Easy  Opposites 
be  added,  (Criterion  Coefficient  equals  .65;  inter-correlations 
equal  .49.,  34.,  .68),  the  Coefficient  becomes  .9292.  This  is 
a  good  practical  combination  inasmuch  as  it  may  be  adminis- 
tered within  a  limit  of  500",  and  combines  variety  and  brevity. 

Another  combination  consists  of  the  Easy  Directions  No. 
2  and  the  Card  Sorting  Tests  (Criterion  Coefficients  of  .71 
and  .56  and  an  inter-correlation  of  .34)  which  gives  a  coeffi- 
cient of  .7867.  To  this,  add  the  Digits  Test  (Criterion  Co- 
efficient equals  .49;  inter-correlations  of  .33  and  .31)  and  the 
Multiple  becomes  .8118.  Then  add  the  Substitution  Test 
(Criterion  Coefficient  equals  .60;  inter-correlations  equal  .32; 
.43 ;  .48)  and  our  Multiple  Index  becomes  .8409.  These  tests 
require  about  675."  and  have  already  proved  of  value  in  prac- 
tical application  at  the  Factory. 

The  next  group  is  comprised  of  the  Card  Sorting  and 
Three  Directions  Tests  Combined,  (Criterion  Coefficients 


76     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

equal  .70  and  .73  and  inter-correlations  equal  .58) ;  together 
these  two  tests  give  a  coefficient  of  .7812.  When  the  Easy 
Opposites  Test  is  added  with  its  Criterion  Coefficient  of  .65., 
and  inter-correlations  of  .58  and  .45,  the  coefficient  becomes 
.8327.  Digits  added  to  the  series  increases  the  coefficient  to 
.8544.  This  combination  requires  about  807"  for  its  execution. 

Another  combination  is  comprised  of  the  Motor  Control 
and  the  Easy  Directions  No.  2,  which  give  a  Multiple  of  .9071 ; 
Sorting  adds  .0494;  Substitution  .0160;  and  Digits  .0027: 
making  a  total  coefficient  of  .9681.,  the  best  combination  that 
has  been  derived.  It  is  composed  of  tests  which  can 
be  given  in  approximately  13  minutes.  Each  one  of  these 
tests  has  been  given  a  practical  trial  by  the  Employment 
Managers  and  they  are  continuing  to  prove  their  worth  as  a 
rapid  means  of  predicting  the  efficiency  of  an  employee. 

The  Special  Tests  devised  for  use  in  this  particular  in- 
dustry were  next  combined  by  taking  first  the  Feather  Sort- 
ing the  Judgment  Tests  with  their  Criterion  Coefficients  of 
.76  and  .65  and  their  inter-correlation  coefficients  of  .64,  wher- 
by  the  Multiple  Coefficient  becomes  .7944.  When  the  Color 
Test  is  added  to  this  group  the  coefficient  becomes  .8002. 
The  Weight  Test  make  no  contribution  of  sufficient  size  to 
warrant  the  time  required  for  its  presentation. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  determining  these  Teams,  only 
tests  bearing  the  highest  indices  of  correlation  with  the 
Criterion  have  been  considered.  Thus,  the  two  Mixed  Rela- 
tions, the  Proverbs  and  the  Weight  Tests  have  been  dropped. 
So  far  as  this  type  of  work  is  concerned  they  do  not  predict 
failure  or  success,  their  contribution  is  practically  nil.  The 
Binet  requires  too  much  time  to  be  practical ;  only  the  single 
tests  that  have  been  designated  elsewhere  are  to  be  retained. 

To  ascertain  the  weighting  of  the  tests  retained,  the 
tables  and  procedure  arranged  by  Dr.  Toops  were  applied. 

The  first  step  is  to  choose  that  test  which  bears  the  high- 
est correlation  to  the  Criterion.  Each  test  in  turn  is  com- 
bined with  the  first  test  to  ascertain  what  the  special  con- 
tribution of  each  to  the  combination  already  determined  may 
be. 

We  take,  then,  the  Motor  Test  as  the  "combination"  when 
the  Binet  is  combined  with  it,  the  Binet  has  a  weighting  of 
.6736;  the  Motor  and  the  other  tests  have  a  weighting  as 
follows : 

Motor  and  Trabue  give  a  weighting  of  .4797. 

Hard  D.  "  "                      "     -2778. 

Easy  D.  No.  2  "  "                      "     -7398. 

3-D.  Av.  "  "          "           "     -4146. 

Easy  Opp.  "  "          "          "     -2921. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     77 

Mixed  Rels.  No.  1        "  "  "  "  .2751. 

Mixed  Rels.  No.  2       "  "  "  "  .0003. 

Substitution  "  "  "  "  .5175. 

A-Test  Cancel.  "  "  "  "  .1347. 

Digits  "  "  "  "  .3735. 

Proverbs  "  "  "  "  .1439. 

Cards  "  "  "  "  .7137. 

Sorting  "  "  .2572. 

By  inspection  the  Easy  Directions  No.  2  and  the  Cards 
Test  have  the  highest  weighting.  The  first  two  combined 
with  the  Motor  Test  make  a  contribution  of  .8968,;  while 
Cards  and  Motor  have  a  correlation  of  .8666.  Substitution 
with  Motor  as  a  combination  have  a  correlation  of  .8616 ;  the 
contribution  of  any  of  the  other  test  is  of  less  value  at  this 
point. 

Taking  Motor  and  the  Easy  Directions  No.  2  as  the 
combination,  on  the  basis  of  the  weightings  already  deter- 
mined, we  add  the  Trabue,  which  at  this  point  receives  a 
weighting  of  .1880;  the  Hard  Directions  has  a  weighting  in 
this  combination  of  1419;  Easy  Directions  No.  1  of  .0169; 
Easy  Opposites  of  .1201 ;  Mixed  Relations  No.  1  has  a  weight- 
ing .0321;  Mixed  Relations  No.  2,  a  weighting  of  1363; 
Subsitution  has  a  weighting  of  .5162;  the  A-Test  of  weight- 
ing of  .1828;  and  Digits  has  a  weighting  of  .3348;  Card-Sort- 
ing, a  weighting  of  .9390;  Sorting  Test  a  weighting  of  .1767; 
The  highest  of  these  weightings,  the  Card-Sorting  Test,  is, 
selected  for  the  next  combination. 

With  this  new  combination,  we  then  derive  the  weighting 
of  each  of  the  other  tests,  in  turn.  Thus,  when  Motor,  Easy 
Directions  No.  2  and  the  Card  tests  are  combined,  the  Trabue 
contribues  .0823 ;  Substitution  .4734 ;  Digits  .3382.  The  other 
weightings  are  of  less  value.  When  Substitution  and  Digits 
are  added  to  the  former  Combination,  the  aggregate  correla- 
tion is  .9591.  Each  test  makes  some  contribution  to  the 
whole  weighting,  but  in  this  case,  additional  tests  increase 
the  sum-total  contribution  in  only  a  slight  measure. 

The  Special  Test  should  now  be  considered.  Feathers 
and  the  Color  Tests  combined  give  a  weighting  of  .2866; 
Weights  test  has  a  negative  value  of  .0903.,  and  is,  therefore, 
to  be  dropped.  When  Judgment  is  combined  with  Feathers 
and  Color,  the  Feather  test  remaining  as  the  constant,  the 
weighting  becomes  .4756.  The  correlation  then  becomes  .7893. 
With  Color  added,  the  correlation  becomes  .8002. 

Surveying  all  the  weightings  in  this  group  of  test,  the 
contributions  made  by  the  Easy  Directions  No.  2.,  the  Sub- 
stitution, Cards  and  Digits  tests,  if  the  Motor  Test  is  chosen 
as  a  key  test,  have  the  greatest  value. 


78     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Of  the  Special  Test,  the  Feather  Sorting  and  the  Judg- 
ment lests  are  to  be  selected  in  preference  to  the  Color  and 
Weights  tests. 

It  is  possible,  therefore,  by  this  method  to  determine 
the  actual  contribution  made  by  each  test,  and  let  the  weight- 
ing thus  derived  be  a  guide  as  to  the  retention  or  rejection  of 
the  tests  under  consideration. 

Before  practical  use  of  these  methods  can  be  made 
however,  it  is  necessary  to  predict  the  scores  within  the 
limits  of  which  the  test-records  of  the  subject  must  lie. 

The  first  step  in  this  procedure  is  to  select  those  teams 
of  test  which  bear  the  highest  coefficient  of  correlation  to 
the  Criterion  and  contain  the  individual  tests  which  prove  of 
the  greatest  value  in  their  practical  application. 

It  is  essential  to  choose  more  than  one  team  because  of 
the  varied  demands  of  the  Factory  work.  Hence,  teams 
No.  2.,  No.  3.,  No.  6  and  No.  7.  are  chosen. 

The  Teams  of  Tests  which  are  to  be  applied  in  this  industry.* 


Team  II. 

Trabue   Completion 
Sorting 

Three-Directions 
Digits 
Substitution 

Team  VI. 
Motor  Control 
Easy   Directions   No.   2 
Substitution 
Sorting 
Digits 


Team  III. 

Motor  Control 

Sorting 

Easy  Directions  No.  2 

Easy  Opposites 

Team  VII.     Special  Tests 

Feather  Sorting 

Judgment 

Color  Discrimination 


It  is  of  practical  value  to  have  a  definite  method  for 
scoring  each  Team  of  Tests.  For  this  purpose  it  is  necessary 
to  obtain  the  combined  predicted  score  for  each  Team.  This 
is  determined  by  dividing  the  Beta  Weighting  (obtained  by 
the  method  demonstrated  above,  of  each  test  by  the 
Standard  Deviation  derived  in  that  test,  and  multiplying  each 
individual's  test-score  by  the  quotient  thus  obtained.  This 
resulting  quotient  is  usually  an  unwieldy  number,  a  decimal 
that  is  difficult  to  manipulate.  It  is,  therefore,  advisable  to 
reduce  all  the  decimals  in  the  Team  to  a  workable  form.  This 
can  be  done  by  either  dividing  or  multiplying  each  quotient 
by  the  same  number.  The  algebraic  theorem  which  states 
that  multiplying  or  dividing  all  the  members  of  an  expression 
by  the  same  number  does  not  alter  the  existing  relationship 

*The  directions  for  giving  the  special  tests  are  found  in  the  Appendix 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     79 

between  the  members,  justifies  this  proceeding.  Having  de- 
termined by  which  process  to  reduce  the  quotients  to  numbers 
that  will  make  convenient  multipliers  the  next  step  in  the 
procedure  is  to  multiply  each  girl's  test-score  by  the  mul- 
tiplier derived  for  each  individual  test.  The  sums  of  all  the 
products  is  the  total  score  obtained  by  that  individual  in  the 
tests  of  that  particular  Team. 

The  range  of  test-scores  varies.  The  significant  value 
of  this  operation  lies,  therefore,  in  the  fact  that,  all  the 
test-scores  are  reduced  to  one  level  and  a  subject  is  said  to 
be  rated  in  a  certain  decile  in  the  combination  of  tests,  rather 
than  in  one  decile  in  one  test  and  in  another  decile  in  another 
test  etc. 

Now,  in  order  to  determine  what  may  be  the  level  of 
achievment  demanded  in  Team  No.  2,  for  instance,  it  is  to 
be  noted  that  since  the  possible  scores  range  from  approxi- 
mately 4224  to  1418  as  a  combination  record,  these  are  to  be 
regarded  as  test-limits.  The  accomanying  table  may  be  used 
as  a  sample  illustration  of  the  method. 

The  girls  whose  individual  records  range  from  approxi- 
mately 3000  to  the  upper  limit  in  Team  No.  2  do  excellent 
work;  those  whose  records  range  from  2000  to  3000  are 
fairly  good,  while  those  below  the  2000  limit  are  doing  poor 
work.  Therefore*  we  are  justified  in  demanding  a  com- 
bination score  in  Team  Number  Two  of  approximately  55 
per  cent,  of  the  highest  score  made. 

The  same  method  of  procedure  is  to  be  followed  in  each 
of  the  other  Teams. 

Thus,  the  highest  combination  score  for  Team  3  is  ap- 
proximately 5000  and  its  lowest  limit  is  about  1300.  We  find 
no  subjects  on  this  scale  who  are  doing  good  work,  whose 
records  are  below  about  2500,  which  is  approximately  60  per 
cent,  of  the  average  record  of  the  highest  Group  in  this 
test.  In  Team  3  the  multiples  are  19  for  the  Motor  Test ;  12 
for  the  Sorting  Test;  8  for  Easy  Directions  No.  2  and  7  for 
the  Easy  Opposites. 

In  Team  6  the  multiple  for  the  Motor  Test  is  19;  for  the 
Easy  Directions  Test  is  14;  for  the  Card-Sorting  Test  is  9; 
for  the  Substitution  Test  is  3;  and  for  the  Digits  Test  is  1. 

In  Team  6  there  is  a  range  of  possible  scores  of  from 
approximately  1500  to  4000.  In  this  case  we  shall  call  60 
per  cent,  of  the  average  score  of  those  in  the  highest  quartile 
of  the  test  a  good  passing  mark.  Thus,  those  whose  record 
scores  are  below  an  approximate  rating  of  2500  will  not  be 
valuable  assets  in  the  Selecting  Department. 

The  Special  Tests,  of  which  only  3  are  retained,  the 
Feather  Sorting,  Judgment  and  Color  Tests,  have  these 
multiples  respectively,  4,  6  and  3. 


80     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 


The  range  in  this  test  is  from  approximately  1200  to  700 
as  limiting  scores. 

In  this  instance,  those  obtaining  a  combination  score  of 
approximately  1100  and  over  are  to  be  rated  as  excellent, 
those  whose  scores  range  from  900  to  1100  are  fair,  and  any 
person  grading  below  the  level  of  approximately  900  are  to 
be  ranked  as  poor.  This  group  is  to  be  given  a  75  per  cent, 
pass  mark,  or  an  obligatory  score  of  approximately  900  points. 

A  record  blank  can  readily  be  arranged  upon  this  basis 
for  each  team  of  tests. 

FORM  TO  BE  USED  FOR  RATING  SUBJECTS 


Name 


Fitness 


Credits 


Total 


Test  1 

Test  2 

Test  3 

Test  4 

Scores 

Maximum  £ 

5cores 

100% 


97% 


90% 


100% 


PERCENT  RATING  OF  5  SUBJECTS  IN  TESTS  OF  TEAM  VII. 


x  4 

x  6 

x  3 

No. 

Feather  Test 

Judgment 

Color 

Total 

24 

100 

95 

86 

1228 

49 

95 

80 

80 

1100 

12 

75 

82 

83 

1041 

50 

70 

72 

82 

958 

51 

25 

74 

60 

724 

Chapter  VII. 
INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  DATA. 

No  form  of  measurement,  whether  it  be  physical  or 
mental  can  be  absolutely  exact,  but  the  more  tests  we  give, 
the  closer  is  our  approach  to  a  perfect  index  of  the  subject's 
mental  status.  The  large  number  of  tests  applied  in  this  in- 
vestigation was  made  because  of  a  desire  to  obtain  as  complete 
a  mental  picture  of  the  group  as  was  possible. 

The  art  of  evaluating  tests  scientifically  consists  in  mak- 
ing checks  and  counter-checks  that  it  may  be  definitely  deter- 
mined to  what  extent  the  test-results  may  be  depended  upon. 
This  has  been  done  in  our  study  by  the  methods  of  correla- 
tion. The  results  demonstrate  (1)  which  tests  are  of  greatest 
value  from  the  view-point  of  the  employer;  (2)  how  tests 
compare  in  difficulty  of  performance;  (3)  what  combinations 
of  tests  reveal  the  best  standards  by  which  to  judge  an 
employee's  capacity  for  work  in  the  factory;  (4)  the  relative 
standing  of  individual  girls;  (5)  the  relative  standing  of  the 
groups  engaged  in  the  different  departments  of  the  factory; 
(6)  the  indices  of  test- values  derived  from  comparing  the 
rating  of  the  girls  in  the  tests  with  their  rating  by  the  Firm 
as  revealed  in  their  daily  work. 

The  aim  has  been  to  simply  register  all  the  positive  in- 
dications of  intelligence.  By  means  of  the  test-results, 
different  levels  of  proficiency  requisite  for  a  person  who  is 
to  be  engaged  in  any  one  of  the  different  departments  of  this 
particular  type  of  factory  have  been  established.  The  "levels" 
vary  with  the  demands  of  the  several  departments. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  this  investigation,  the  work 
required  in  each  of  the  departments  of  the  factory  is  analyzed. 
This  study  would  be  incomplete  if  the  analysis  of  the  require- 
ments of  the  job  and  of  the  proficiency  of  the  girls  as 
established  by  the  tests  were  not  brought  together.  Sub- 
sequent chapters  have  been  devoted  to  the  analysis  of  test- 
records  and  a  comparison  of  those  records  with  the  rankings 
of  the  firm. 

The  results  of  the  application  of  methods  to  determine 
the  Partial  and  Multiple  Correlations  established  between  the 
tests  and  the  Criterion  are  in  themselves  sufficiently  sig- 
nificantto  require  no  further  comment  regarding  their  value. 
The  "Teams  of  Tests"  chosen  by  these  methods  of  selection 

81 


82     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

and  elimination  demonstrate  the  best  means  by  which  to 
secure  a  swift  and  accurate  picture  of  the  applicant's  native 
capacity,  in  so  far  as  that  capacity  will  prove  of  use  in  this 
type  of  work. 

In  the  Fancy  Department,  it  has  been  demonstrated 
(Page  42)  that  the  ability  to  reproduce  the  two  designs 
in  eluded  in  the  Binet  Scale  is  a  highly  desirable  accomplish- 
ment for  its  workers.  The  Team  of  Tests  2  should  be  given; 
60  per  cent,  must  be  obtained.  If  a  subject  falls  below  this 
standard  the  chances  are  that  she  will  be  more  satisfactory  in 
one  of  the  other  departments  where  a  low  grade  of  mentality 
is  acceptable. 

In  the  Selecting  Department,  good  judgment  and  the 
ability  to  continue  at  a  monotonous  task  are  best  revealed  by 
Team VI  and  the  Binet  Weight  Test.  Grade  C  in  the  memory 
tests  on  the  Binet  Scale  in  also  a  requisite  for  the  best  grade 
of  worker.  Team  VII  should  be  given  to  determine  which 
persons  possess  special  ability  for  this  type  of  work.  The 
Selectors  of  Raw  Feathers  do  not  need  to  reach  as  high  a 
grade  of  intelligence  as  do  the  Selectors  of  the  Finished 
Feathers  and  Team  III  should  be  given  to  them.  The  3rd 
or  4th  Grade  on  the  Motor  Control  Graded  Scale  is  sifficiently 
good.  Grade  C  in  the  Binet  Memory  Tests  is  desirable.  There 
should  be  no  more  than  seven  piles  in  the  Sorting  Test,  and 
the  time  for  the  performance  should  not  exceed  360". 

In  the  Boa  Department,  the  Motor  Control  Test  is  again 
the  principal  criterion  by  which  to  judge  whether  a  person 
can  engage  to  advantage  in  a  monotonous  task.  Team  III 
or  Team  VI  should  be  given.  Grade  C  in  the  Auditory  Memory 
Tests  is  sufficient. 

In  the  Dyeing  Department,  Team  II  is  to  be  given. 

The  Benders  and  Twisters  should  be  given  Team  2  graded 
3rd  or  4th  in  the  Motor  Test. 

The  Errand  Girls  should  have  B-Grading  in  the  Auditory 
Memory  Tests  from  the  Binet-Scale  and  be  given  Team  II. 

In  this  schedule  it  will  be  noted  that  the  lowest  standard 
in  test-rating  is  acceptable  in  the  Sorting  of  Raw  Feathers, 
and  in  the  Department  of  Benders  and  Twisters.  It  was 
found  that  many  girls  in  these  two  departments  were  below 
average  intelligence.  None  of  them  had  a  mental  age  on  the 
Binet-Scale  of  more  than  10.8.,  and  the  majority  ranged  from 
9.4  to  10.,  while  one  girl  (151)  measured  but  8.6.  The  point 
of  importance  in  this  connection  is  that  great  many  persons 
who  rank  below  the  norm  in  psychological  tests  could  be 
usefully  employed  if  a  careful  study  were  made  not  only  of 
the  mental  equipment  of  the  subjects  but  also  of  the  degree 
of  mental  development  required  for  the  work  in  factories. 

Until  we  know  by  what  mental  scale  the  majority  of 
those  engaged  in  Factory  Work  should  be  judged,  we  cannot 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     83 

determine  any  definite  criterion  for  the  mental  measurements 
of  the  steady,  unskilled  workers  of  the  world.  In  this  study, 
if  we  consider  the  Binet  Tests  apart  from  the  other  standards 
of  measurement,  a  condition  is  revealed  which  permits  the 
conclusion  that  a  great  many  individuals  often  regarded  as 
a  dead  loss  to  the  industrial  world  can  be  utilized  to  good 
purpose  in  a  number  of  industries  where  manual  dexterity  is 
more  of  a  requirement  than  judgment  or  the  ability  to  reason. 

The  Experimenter  believes  that  this  study  has  laid  the 
foundation  for  the  utilization  of  Teams  of  Tests  calculated 
to  measure  this  grade  of  labor  material. 

Furthermore,  other  questions  whose  sulution  will  greatly 
increase  the  efficiency  of  the  factory  have  been  solved.  The 
tests  have  determined  whether  an  applicant  will  do  better 
work  as  a  selector,  a  bender,  an  employee  in  the  Fancy  Depart- 
ment, in  the  Dyeing  Department  or  as  an  Errand  Girl. 

When  promotions  are  to  be  made,  the  Standards  of 
achievement  that  are  to  be  considered  a  legitimate  gauge  by 
which  to  designate  the  worthiest  condidates  can  be  ascertained 
from  an  inspection  of  the  analysis  of  the  requirements  set 
forth  in  the  Teams  of  Tests.  Teams  II,  VI,  and  VII  should  be 
given  to  those  eligible  for  Promotion. 

The  fact  that  the  relationship  existent  between  the  tests 
and  the  Criterion  are  of  a  positive  nature,  and  that,  in  some 
cases  they  are  of  considerable  magnitude,  are  convincing 
proof  of  the  practical  applicability  of  the  methods  delineated. 


Chapter  VIII. 

CONFIRMATION  OF  THE  TESTS 
Three  Years  Later. 

Calculations  in  which  the  human  element  enters  to  the 
degree  in  which  it  is  present  in  such  tests  as  those  described 
in  this  paper  are  always  open  to  question  by  the  non-scientific 
who  are  prone  to  look  upon  this  sort  of  analysis  as  theory 
pure  and  simple. 

In  order  to  refute  any  possible  charge  that  the  actual 
progression  and  evolution  of  the  personnel  of  the  Factory 
had  been  in  contradiction  to  the  results  of  the  tests  and  the 
conclusions  drawn  therefrom,  the  Examiner  visited  the 
factory  after  allowing  an  interval  of  three  years  to  elapse  and 
carefully  a^certajiied  the  status  of  progression  or  regression 
of  evej^__s^bjji5lexamined  three  years,  earHer^who  still~re- 
mained  in  the  employ  oJLtke  Firm.  As  mucH  information  as 
possible  was  gathered  regarding^  those  who  had  left  the  firm. 

It  is  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  record  that  the  findings 
f/of  the  tests  are  vindicated  by  a  fairly  close  parallel  between 
I  what  the  tests  predicted  and  what  actually  developed  in  the 
I  operation  of  the  factory.  The  girls  scoring  the  highest  mental 
rating  were  found  to  have  won  promotion  to  positions  of 
Forewomen,  while  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale  those  rating 
lowest  had  been  dismissed  and  were  no  longer  employed,  or 
else  had  remained  in  statu  quo.  / 

^Twenty-eight  of  the  original  force  were  found  to  be 
still  m  me  employ  of  the  Firm.  Of  the  forty-seven  persons 
who  had  left,  however,  thirteen  had  married,  so  that  they 
are  not  to  be  included  in  the  group  which  the  tests  designated 
as  lacking  in  stability. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  mental  status  revealed 
by  the  tests  of  the  subjects  leaving  to  get  married  is  con- 
tradictory and  inconclusive  and  permits  no  such  deduction, 
for  instance,  as  that  the  more  mentally  alert  have  a  better 
matrimonial  chance  than  those  ranking  lower  in  the  scale. 
The  records  show  that  the  subjects  achieving  matrimony 
were  nearly  equally  divided  between  the  four  quartiles  of  the 
scale. 

There  were,  then,  thirty-four  girls  who  had  left  the 
Factory  for  other  reasons  than  matrimony. 

Of  this  thirty-four  had  proved  undesirable  or  undesiring 


about  half  Jiad  ^beeliniesiglna-ted-by-4h€  tests"  asr  unsnitexi  for 
BimBltOfious  work.    The  Motor  Control  Test  was  the  principal 


84 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    85 

index  in  this  diagnosis,  although  the  careless  execution  of  the 
two  Cancellation  tests  was  also  noted  in  this  connection. 

The  distinction  between  undesirable  and  undesiring  has 
been  made  because  in  the  class  of  unsteadfast  persons  are 
some  who  are  in  no  way  mentally  lethargic,  but  are,  on  the 
contrary,  alert  and  adventurous,  and  leave  jobs,  not  through 
inefficiency  but  through  a  craving  for  larger  opportunities. 
Persons  such  as  No.  48.,  No.  15.,  and  No.  5.  were,  it  was 
ascertained,  employed  as  saleswoman,  telephone  operator  and 
cashier  in  other  concerns.  All  three  of  these  occupations  put 
a  girl  on  a  somewhat  higher  social  basis  in  the  estimation  of 
her  comrades,  and  are  also  jobs  offering  an  increase  in  salary. 

Subjects  No.  2.,  No.  7.,  No.  11.,  No.  27.  and  No.  42  had  left 
the  Factory  through  other  causes  than  matrimony,  or  an 
advance  in  position.  Their  performances  in  the  Motor  and 
Cancellation  and  Sorting  Tests  shewed  them  to  be  incapa- 
citated for  monotonous  labor  and  this  fact  was  incorporated 
in  the  reports  made  at  the  time  they  were  tested. 

An  Employer  taking  into  consideration  the  results  of 
the  Motor,  Cancellation  and  Sorting  Tests  would  never  have 
given  work  of  a  monotonous  character  or  tasks  requiring 
delicate  manipulative  ability  to  girls  ranking  as  these  girls 
ranked  under  tests  designated  to  bring  out  manual  dexterity 
and  the  capacity  to  persevere  at  a  repetitive  type  of  work. 

A.  comparison  between  the  records  of  the  28  girls  who 
had  remained  at  the  Factory  and  the  records  of  those  who  had 
left  shows  that  the  first  group  measured,  on  an  average,  11.11 
on  the  Binet-Simon  Scale,  while  the  second  group  scored  an 
average  mental  age  of  10.85,  according  to  the  results  of  the 
Binet  test.  In  the  Association,  Linguistic,  Directions  and 
Special  Tests,  the  first  group  obtained  an  average  score  of 
73  per  cent,  with  a  mean  deviation  of  6.75.,  while  the  second 
group  made  an  average  score  of  69.56  per  cent.,  with  a  mean 
deviation  of  8.9.  The  differences,  though  slight,  are  suggestive 
and  might  be  of  greater  significance  in  a  larger  group. 

The  original  testing  established  also  what  three  years 
of  subsequent  experience  confirmed,  namely  that  subjects 
No.  65.,  No.  3.,  No.  63.,  No.  24.,  No.  45  were  capable  of  per- 
forming the  tasks  assigned  to  them.  These  girls  were  found 
to  have  progressed  in  value  to  the  Firm,  and  in  productiveness 
to  themselves. 

The  most  promising  subjects,  as  revealed  by  high  test- 
scores,  of  those  originally  examined,  include  No.  65.,  No.  29., 
No.  24.,  No.  71.,  No.  5.,  No.  75.  These  subjects  never  fell 
below  the  median  in  the  test-scores  in  both  the  Motor  and 
Intelligence  tests.  They  were  found  to  have  been  advanced 
to  positions  of  responsibility  demanding  initiative  and  alert- 
ness of  mind.  Subject  No.  65  is  often  called  upon  now  to 


86    PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

converse  with  the  Firm's  customers  and  demonstrate  the 
finished  product  placed  on  sale. 

Subjects  No.  24  and  30  who  obtained  ratings  in  the  first 
and  second  quartiles  in  the  tests  were  occupying  positions  as 
Forewomen.  Numbers  46.,  23.,  20.,  67.,  12.,  and  42.  were 
continuing  the  same  work  in  which  they  had  been  engaged  at 
the  time  of  their  examination,  but  their  wages  had  been 
advanced  owing  to  their  efficiency  and  incresed  productiveness. 

Twelve  of  the  girls  remaining  in  the  employ  of  the  Firm 
upon  this  re-investigation  were  found  to  have  been  graded 
generally  in  the  3rd  or  4th  Quartiles  in  their  Test-Records. 

To  those  who  have  made  a  study  of  psychological  testing, 
it  will  not  be  surprising  that  such  corroboration  of  the  test- 
findings  was  obtained  both  at  the  top  and  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Examiner's  scale.  As  is  well-known,  the  tests  offer  a 
reliable  means  of  ascertaining  the  very  quick  and  the  very 
slow. 

Not  only,  however,  are  the  tests  of  high  value  in  asist- 
ing  the  Employer  to  arrive  at  a  quick  verdict  as  regards  those 
ranking  at  the  two  extremes  of  the  scale  but  what  is  even 
more  desirable  they  provide  for  him  a  means  of  arriving  at  a 
fairly  accurate  estimate  of  the  industrial  value  of  those  in 
the  zone  between  the  very  good  and  the  very  poor. 


APPENDIX. 


SPECIAL  TESTS  FOR  THIS  INDUSTRY. 

VI.     1.     Judgment  Test. 

Twenty  strips  of  card-board  were  cut  to  approximate  the 
dimensions  of  the  feathers  used  in  the  factory,  thus: 

Feather  Dummies. 


LENGTH 


WIDTH      LENGTH 


20.5 
17. 

8.5 
18. 

8.5 
12.5 
16.5 
18. 
18.25 
15.5 


in. 


9.75  in. 

12.  in.n 

8. 

13.5 

7.5 

15.5 

7. 

14.5 

6.125 

11. 

6.5 

11.5 

10.5 

14. 

11. 

16.5 

9. 

10. 

8. 

22.5 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 


WIDTH 

7.25 

8. 

8.25 
17.25 

7. 

7. 

8.75 

8.25 

9.25 
11. 


Instructions:  Each  strip  of  card-board  should  be  cut  accu- 
rately as  per  above  scale  from  fairly  heavy 
card-board.  An  extra  strip  should  be  shown 
to  the  subject.  The  subject  is  told  that  a  num- 
ber of  pieces  of  card  board  are  to  be  held 
before  her  and  that  each  one  has  been  cut 
to  correspond  to  the  length  and  width  of  the 
feathers  which  she  is  in  the  habit  of  sorting. 
The  experimenter  says  further:  You  are  to 
observe  the  strip  held  before  you  and  you  are 
to  write  your  estimate  of  the  length  and  width 
of  each  feather-dummy  shown  you.  There  are 
numbers  on  the  sheet  of  paper  given  you  that 
correspond  with  the  numbers  on  the  pieces  of 
card-board. 

Each  individual  was  given  a  sheet  of  paper  at  the  top  of 
which  she  was  told  to  write  her  name  and  the  number  that 
had  been  given  her.  Below,  under  the  word  "Length",  she 
was  to  write  her  approximate  estimate  of  the  length  of  the 
card,  and  under  the  word  "Width",  the  estimated  width,  A 
sheet  of  paper  with  these  headings  was  given  to  each  girl. 

87 


88     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

Name 

Identification  Number 

Length Width 

1.  by 

2.  by 

3 etc.  up  to  and  including  20. 

The  pieces  of  card-board  were  each  held  at  a  distance  of 
18  inches  from  the  subject  and  exposed  for  10".  A  stop-watch 
was  used. 

Scoring:  For  each  correct  judgment,  a  credit  of  5  per  cent 
was  given.  For  every  error  of  a  quarter  of  an 
inch,  5  per  cent  was  deducted  from  the  score.  For 
every  error  of  more  than  one-quarter  of  an  inch, 
one  per  cent,  for  each  half-inch  of  error  was  de- 
ducted from  the  score. 

VI.     Sorting  Test. 

Materials:  A  hundred  strips  of  stiff  card-board  were  cut  to 
correspond  with  twenty  of  the  most  commonly  used  feathers, 
similar  to  those  employed  in  the  previous  test.  Five  strips 
of  each  size  were  cut. 

Instructions:  These  strips  were  laid  before  the  subject  in  a 
random  heap.  The  subject  was  told  to  treat 
the  pieces  of  card-board  as  if  they  were  feath- 
ers and  sort  them  into  piles,  according  to  size. 
"Lay  those  that  are  of  the  same  length  and 
width  together.  Work  as  quickly  and  as  care- 
fully as  you  can." 

Scoring:  Score  the  time  required  for  the  entire  sorting. 
Credit  100  per  cent,  for  five  distinct  piles  of  cards 
of  like  size.  For  every  error  add  five  seconds  to 
the  subject's  time-score.  If  more  than  five  piles 
are  made,  add  five  seconds  to  the  total  time-score 
for  each  additional  pile.  Subjects  are  graded  on 
the  basis  of  their  final  time-score. 

VI... 3.     Card  Sorting. 

Materials:  Two  packs  of  ordinary  playing  cards  from  which 
the  two-spots  had  been  removed,  as  100  cards  are  scored 
more  easily  than  108  cards. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS    89 

Instructions:   The  subject  was  told  to  sort  the  pack  of  cards 
into  four  neat  piles  according  to  suits.     She 
was  shown  a  sample  card  of  each  suit  to  pre- 
clude any  errors  on  the  ground  of  lack  of  know- 
ledge of  the  four  suits.  If  a  subject  is  unfamil- 
iar with  the  cards  note  should  be  made  of  it. 
All  of  these  subjects  knew  the  suits  and  played 
cards  "occasionally." 

Each  subject  was  directed  to  sort  the  cards 
as  rapidly  as   possible   without  making  any 
errors. 

Scoring:  Time  was  recorded  on  the  individual  record  blank 
under  Test  VI..  .3.  The  majority  of  errors  were 
corrected  by  the  subject  who  penalized  herself 
because  of  the  extra  time  spent  in  rectifying  mis- 
takes. The  Munsterberg  method  of  penalties  was 
used.  (Ref.  46).  The  subjects  were  arranged 
as  in  the  other  tests  in  rank  order  of  merit. 

VI.     4.     Discrimination  of  Color  Test. 

Materials:  From  a  Wholesale  Worsted  Firm,  a  quantity  of 
wools,  consisting  of  defective  portions  of  skeins  of  all  colors 
and  grades,  was  purchased.  There  were  ten  shades  each  of 
four  different  colors,  Blue,  Green,  Purple  and  Orange.  Pieces 
of  these  shades  were  cut  into  fifteen  inch  lengths  and  tied  in 
bows.  There  were  forty  other  shades  and  colors  which  were 
cut  also  into  fifteen  inch  lengths  and  made  into  bows.  Four 
sets  were  arranged  in  each  of  which  were  placed  a 
complete  set  (i.  e.  ten  shades),  of  either  the  Blue,  Green, 
Purple  or  Orange  Wools.  Mixed  with  each  of  these  four  sets 
were  put  seventy-five  bits  of  other  worsteds,  chosen  at  ran- 
dom. Each  set  contained  exactly  the  same  number  of  pieces 
of  worsted.  Each  of  these  complete  sets  was  put  into  a  large 
envelope  on  the  outside  of  which  was  written  the  name  of  the 
principal  color  contained  therein,  i.e.  Blue,  Green,  Orange 
or  Purple.  Before  each  subject  a  sheet  of  8x10  paper  was 
laid. 

Instructions:  The  directions  were  given  orally,  as  follows: 
Each  of  you  has  been  given  a  sheet  of  paper. 
Write  your  name  on  top  of  it.  You  have  been 
given  an  envelope  that  contains  bits  of  worsted 
of  different  colors.  Those  of  you  who  have  an 
envelope  upon  which  Green  is  written,  are  to 
sort  out  the  bits  of  worsted  that  are  green; 
in  the  same  way,  those  of  you  who  have  an 
envelope  bearing  the  word  "Blue"  are  to  sort 
out  all  the  blue  shades  of  wool,  and  so  on  with 


90     PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS 

the  Orange  and  the  Purple.     Pay  no  attention 
to  any  color  save  the  one  you  have  been  told 
to  select.     When  the  signal  "Ready"  is  given, 
empty  the  contents  of  your  envelope  on  the 
table  and  begin  at  once  to  sort  out  your  color. 
Put  the  worsteds  that  you  have  been  told  to 
select  on  the  white  paper  before  you.     Sort  the 
you  are  told  to  Stop,  do  so  at  once.     Sort  the 
colors  as  quickly  and  carefully  as  you  can. 
One  minute  was  allowed  for  the  test. 
After  a  girl  had  sorted  one  set,  she  was 
given  another  set  until  each  girl  had  sorted 
each  set. 

Scoring:  The  results  of  the  four  color  sortings  were  aver- 
aged. There  were  85  bits  of  worsted  in  each  en- 
velope, ten  of  which  were  removed  from  the  rest. 
A  credit  of  1  was  given  for  each  selection  of  the 
designated  shade,  and  a  deduction  of  1  when  a 
color  was  misplaced.  The  time  was  a  constant 
element  in  all  instances,  so  that  the  rank  order  of 
merit  was  derived  on  the  basis  of  accuracy  alone. 

VI. .  .5.     The  Motor  Control  Test. 

Materials:  On  a  sheet  of  8x11  on  legal  paper,  make  lines  on 
the  typewriter  one-quarter  of  inch  long,  approximating  thirty- 
two  rows  with  thirty-eight  slants  in  a  row,  thus:  I  I  I  I  I 

Instructions:  The  subject  is  given  a  sheet  and  told  at  a  signal 
of  "Ready"  to  draw  a  line  through  the  center 
of  each  slant.     The  Experimenter  illustrates. 
The  time  allowed  for  the  test  is  optional  with 
the  Experimenter.     As  this  test  is  intended 
to  determine  whether  a  subject  has  sufficient 
stability  to  persist  with  steadiness  and  motor 
control  at  an  uninteresting  and  monotonous 
task,  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  sheet  com- 
pleted, or  a  time-limit  of  seven  minutes  and 
thirty  seconds  given.     The  thirty  second  per- 
iods should  be  checked  off  by  the  subject  at  the 
command  of  the  Experimenter,  who  tells  the 
subject  to  "check"  at  30-second  intervals.    The 
Experimenter  illustrates  by  showing  the  sub- 
ject a  check-mark  and  she  is  told  to  continue 
until  directed  to  "stop". 

Scoring:  Astandard  cross-stroke  of  approximately  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  longer  than  the  obliques  was  chosen, 
and  only  lines  which  crossed  the  slant  were  count- 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  TESTS  APPLIED  TO  FACTORY  WORKERS     91 

ed.  The  number  of  passable  strokes  were  estima- 
ted on  this  basis.  The  sheets  were  graded  by 
three  judges  who  considered  them  from  the  stand- 
point of  neatness  and  precision  of  stroke,  and 
arranged  them  first  in  five  piles — Excellent,  good, 
fair,  poor  ,and  bad.  The  Experimenter  then  num- 
bered these  five  piles  1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5.  The  three 
judges  then  arranged  the  papers  in  rank  order. 
The  average  position  obtained  by  each  individual 
in  the  Judges'  Grading  was  calculated.  The  scor- 
ing was  on  the  basis  of  the  first  grading  90  per 
cent,  and  over  for  the  Excellent  pile;  80  per  cent, 
to  90  per  cent,  for  the  good ;  65  per  cent,  to  80  per 
cent,  for  the  fair;  30  per  cent,  to  65  per  cent,  for 
the  "poor"  and  30  per  cent,  and  below  for  the  very 
poor  or  "bad"  papers. 


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VITA 

The  writer  was  born  in  Ludlow,  N.  Y.  May  10th,  1880. 
She  was  prepared  ^or  college  at  the  New  York  Preparatory 
School  and  at  Rosemary  Hall,  and  has  spent  some  time  in  tra- 
vel and  study  abroad.  She  received  the  degree  of  A.  B,, 
Barnard  College,  1911:  A.  M.  Columbia  University,  1912. 
She  specialized  in  Psychology  and  Socialogy  during  her  entire 
college  course.  The  subject  of  her  Master's  Thesis  was,  "An 
Introspective  Study  of  Association  Reaction  Times."  Since 
then,  has  taken  courses  in  Psychology,  Psychiatry  and  Neu- 
rology at  Cornell  University  and  Medical  School,  and  was 
assistant  in  the  Department  of  Neuro- Pathology,  1914  - 192) . 
She  has  been  a  Clinical  Psychologist  in  New  York  City  since 
1912:  and  is  now  Consulting  Psychologist  at  the  Mental  Clinic 
Bellevue  Hospital,  She  is  a  member  of  the  N.  Y.  Psycholo- 
gical Association,  the  N.  Y.  State  Society  Consulting  Psy- 
chologists, and  the  Psychological  Corporation. 


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